Orpheus , Eurydice
Interdisciplinary dance performace
The performance does not fit into the usual framework of modern ballet, the ancient story connects various media and opens the door to the complex world of physical sciences.
"Troublesome times are the right time to think about time and us in it: what we were, who we are, how we are changing and what we want to be," says the choreographer of the performance, Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre Head of the ballet department, Martynas Rimeikis.
The libretto for the performance is created by Rimantas Ribačiauskas, who was awarded the "Golden Cross of the Stage" in 2020 for the best dramaturgy, the music of the performance was entrusted to the duo of composers - Jūra Elena Šedyta and Albertis Navickas. The actors of the performance - the inner voices of Orpheus and Eurydice - will be the contemporary music duo "Twenty Fingers Duo" - violinist Lora Kmieliauskaitė and cellist Arnas Kmieliauskas. Their live string music will be surrounded by electronic sounds and surround sound effects. The dancers Julija Stankevičiūtė and Jeronimas Krivickas will perform the dance parts in the performance.
Arvydas Buinauskas, probably the most famous lighting artist in the country, will create the mood of the ballet with lights, and the costumes for the dance performance will be created by costume designer Juozas Valenta. The unique team of developers is led by producer Vidas Bizunevičius. The finances of the performance were taken care of by the Lithuanian Culture Council and the copyright association LATGA.
The creators of the performance combined the ideas of modern scientists about time and why we feel differently when we count it in the same way, why we divide it into past, present and future, with one of the most popular stories of ancient Greece - the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
The myth tells of Orpheus' journey deep into Hades, the realm of death. With his songs, Orpheus convinces the lords of the underworld to return his dead wife Eurydice. Before leaving the underworld, Orpheus must fulfill a condition - after taking his wife out of the kingdom of Hades, he cannot look back. The last-minute glance back and Eurydice's return to the underworld—her second death—is to this day one of the saddest moments of parting in all of Western culture.
In the interpretation of the myth of the creators of Vilnius, Orpheus personifies time, which we feel and can measure, and Eurydice - what the Italian physicist and writer Carlo Rovelli describes as a world beyond time - "a strange and alien world, but nevertheless our world. It's like reaching the top of a mountain, where there is only rock, snowfields and sky. An essential world that emits a dry, fruitless and uncomfortable light."
Orpheus' journey to Eurydice in "Smoke Factory" will be a journey deep into timelessness, and their return and parting on the threshold of the cave will make us realize how limited our senses are when we try to understand Eurydice's world - a world beyond time.
Interdisciplinary modern ballet performance based on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, based on the latest physics ideas about time "Orpheus, Eurydice" - November 2022, 30 "Smoke Factory", Vilnius.
Creative Team
Choreographer // Martynas Rimeikis
Composers // Albertas Navickas and Jūra Elena Šedytė
Libretto author // Rimantas Ribačiauskas
Set and lighting designer // Arvydas Buinauskas (ABlight)
Contemporary music duo // Twenty Fingers Duo (Arnas Kmieliauskas, Lora Kmieliauskaitė)
Dancers // Jeronimas Krivickas and Julija Stankevičiūtė
Costume designer // Juozas Valenta
Sound director // Julius Aglinskas
Produced by // Vidas Bizunevičius and MB "Tarp tylos"
Supported by Lithuanian Council for Culture and Association LATGA