Loreta Narvilaitė: “We drew the map of the story opera with the sounds we created”

Klaipėda and its sounds are one of the most important sources of inspiration for Loreta Narvilaitė, who created the music for the first act of the story opera “Klaipėda”. The composer gets new ideas for her work every day from the sounds made by the seashore, the rustling of the wind, and the experiences of the people who live here. The artist is influenced by city life, and she changes her city with her works. The constant aspiration of the hard-working composer is an attempt to overtake time, to create more than is currently possible.

At the Klaipėda International Festival and the old boathouse that became its stage, on August 4th at 9:30 p.m., the story opera “Klaipėda” will be presented, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Klaipėda’s annexation to Lithuania, which was written by four local composers – L. Narvilaitė, Vladimiras Konstantinovas on behalf of the Klaipėda State Music Theater , Kristijonas Lučinskas and Donatas Bielkauskas. The libretto for this three-part opera was created by Arvydas Juozaitis. The axis of the artistic concept of the opera is three essential concepts describing the history of the Klaipėda region – man, faith, language. We are waiting for you at the premiere!

You were entrusted with a special mission – to write music for the first act of the story opera “Klaipėda”. Did you find any suggested accents in the libretto?

As a composer from Klaipėda, participating in this project is a truly special mission for me. I am glad that I was invited to commemorate the historical 100th anniversary of the annexation of Klaipėda region to Lithuania. Creating the opera gave me the opportunity to get to know the history, personalities, and cultural traditions of a land that is very close to me even more deeply. In the libretto of the opera, its author, Arvydas Juozaitis, gave a number of hints about all this, which helped in choosing the musical material. In other words, he suggested the tracks along which all of us composers drew a map of the main road of the story opera.

An excerpt from the first act has already been played in concerts. What are the first impressions? Maybe you wanted to add or change something? Does audience reaction matter?

It was very interesting to hear a live performance of a fragment of the written opera. LRT filmed the 100th anniversary concert held in the Klaipėda Drama Theater and placed it in the media library, so I can listen again and again and examine how everything sounds there, whether the chosen artistic means worked. It was also interesting to hear the reaction of the audience. Most of them mentioned that the style of my work changes. I don’t feel any significant changes in her. While writing the piece, I focused mostly on the fact that it would have to sound in an open space, in the Klaipėda boathouse. Colleagues will probably agree that this created additional challenges for authors, not only for performers and organizers.

What is the most important thing in your written action? What historical figures will we see? What kind of musical whirlwind will you throw the hero into?

In the first act of the opera, you will meet seven of the really large group of characters of the opera. Among them, I would mention historical figures – the printer Martynas Jankus, the Lithuanian priest Vilius Gaigalaitis, the former bookseller who came from Greater Lithuania Jonas Budrys, the writer ĖvėSimonait (Ieva Simonaitytė). At the end of the action, the goal is established – the reunification of Little Lithuania with Greater Lithuania. It is uttered by M. Jankaus, V. Gaigalaitis and J. Budris, who is later appointed as the commander of the uprising, obalsi: “Mažoji Lithuania is ours!”. All this is happening in 1922 St. On Christmas Eve, in the village of Little Lithuania. Everyone is waiting for the holiday, so the music is mainly light, major, hopeful, which I like. Dramatic events will come later, in actions written by colleagues.

The musical material was written by several different composers from Klaipėda, so each part of the piece has its own musical language, the piece will be performed by a different lineup of performers. Was there any collaboration between you? What will become the connecting parts of the piece?

Four of us wrote according to a libretto created by one author. Together with the conductor Tomas Ambrozaičius, the producer of the opera, we agreed on the vocal characteristics of the characters, i.e. i.e. which voice will sing the part of this or that character in all the acts of the opera. It brought us together. Each author chose the musical material independently. It is likely that the stylistics of the work as a whole will be quite varied, because we are authors of different creative lines.

How important is the historical past of the city to you, as a composer living in Klaipėda?

The historical past of the city is really important. Almost all of us or our older generation relatives are newcomers here. My grandparents (on my mother’s side) came to Klaipėda around 1946, fleeing from deportation. Therefore, I am very interested in getting to know the city that was, until then, at the beginning of the 20th century, where famous personalities of Lithuanian culture lived and were active. The year 1923 was indeed very significant for the Klaipėda region. Then Stasys Šimkus founded a conservatory in Klaipėda, which also celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. I am interested in the whole culture of the Klaipėda region, and especially the longing of the folk songs of Little Lithuania, which is very peculiar and endless as far as the sea…

In one of the interviews, you mentioned that the constantly changing city inspires you to create?

Klaipėda and the sea are constant, recurring themes in my work. It probably couldn’t be otherwise. No matter what other city I go to, I unconsciously compare everyone to my hometown. Although I see its shortcomings and imperfections, Klaipėda is still my city. Just like the sand of the Lithuanian seaside – for me it is the whitest and most beautiful, despite the fact that the water of the southern seas is much warmer.

Living in Klaipėda, where everything flows more calmly than in some big cities, I think, offers more advantages to the developer. Because real creativity is born in solitude, when you are alone with your thoughts and your pen for a long time. Of course, in the case of this work, and with the libretto of a story opera, in order to make his meaningful words ring out with valuable, artistically effective sounds.

Interviewed by Žaneta Skersytė