The Klaipėda State Musical Theater was reconstructed with love for art and the audience

The building of the Klaipėda State Musical Theater (KVMT), which opened its doors last week after five years of reconstruction, surprised the audience. It is a theater that can boast of one of the best acoustics in the country, the romantically named “Jūros” and “Marių” halls, the most modern technologies and comfort for everyone who visits here. The mark of quality created by the theater is the eternal breathing of art, which unites the face of the city of Klaipėda and the seaside landscape shaped by historical events. The activity of the musical theater is like a wave, an incessant sense of eternity, creativity and sound.
The trial lasted 5 years
According to Laima Vilimienė, head of the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre, the moment of completion of the theater’s construction is one of the most important in her life. “I am very happy. I feel that the long road we have all walked together has come to an end. It has been my honor, trial, or fate to jump onto this highway for the past five and a half years. Having started her work at KVMT in 2018 I had to move the theater out of the old building in mid-August. The major part of the theater was demolished, only the historical tower and the administrative part remained, and soon we dug the capsule together with the heads of the contractors – construction began,” said L. Vilimienė at the press conference.
Naglis Stancikas, the deputy head of the Klaipėda State Musical Theater, was even worried when talking about the founding of the musical theater. “There were a thousand reasons not to finish this project. There were many trials and only the endless desire of the contractor, ours, the great support of the Ministry of Culture and the Government enabled us to complete the project on time and properly. In the last six months, the work was very intense, hundreds of people worked”, N. Stancikas noted the team work.

The construction of the musical theater lasted 5 years and 7 months. The initial value of the object was planned to reach about 24 million. euros, but the final value of the project is 49.4 million. euros. During that time, many important things happened in the world that complicated the theater reconstruction process, which led to the increase in the price of the project. “This was caused by many things: price changes, revisions of solutions, indexation, the war in Ukraine, the prices of construction works increased, the covid pandemic, disruptions in logistic chains”, N. Stancikas discussed the challenges that have arisen over more than 5 years.
Aimed for the exclusivity of the space
Mantas Šalčius, the project director of UAB “Infes”, who returned from emigration with his family, always looked at the reconstruction project with infinite optimism, but also with engineering solutions. The KVMT building, i.e. its underground cellars for rehearsal halls and scenery storage, is located as much as 12 meters below sea level. The builders had to turn their heads, how to protect the walls of the building from the river flowing almost next to it, especially how to strengthen the foundations of the old part.

Interior architect Marius Mateika, founder of MAMA architects, emphasized that the interior of KVMT was born out of endless love. “When creating the interior of Klaipėda’s musical theater, we aimed for people who visited here to understand the uniqueness of this space, to feel that they have come to a celebration of the soul intended for them. Together, we were looking for coziness: so that this space would not frighten with its uniqueness, but warm and intrigue. We combined the history of the theater with today’s needs, emphasizing in the interior that this is the Klaipėda City Theater. For this, the interior uses the motif of clay (characteristic of the city’s architecture) and sand washed by sea waves. In addition, the audience visiting here will understand what the term “theatre starts from the dressing room” means, said M. Mateika. By the way, designer Agnė Kuzmickaitė created the clothes for the staff of the spectator service.
In the new palace, repertory performances will await the audience: each of them will be almost equal to the premiere, because in the new hall the decorations will have to be adapted, the performers will have to get dressed during the rehearsals, the lights will be adjusted, etc.

The manager of the Klaipėda State Musical Theater L. Vilimienė was happy with the meaningful numbers and dates that accompanied the opening of the theater: 204 – that’s how many years the musical theater has existed in Klaipėda in various forms; 100 – so many years ago, on these days, the convention of joining Klaipėda region to Lithuania was signed in Paris; 34 – that’s how many years we’ve been living in Independent Lithuania. In Klaipėda, the only, the first space dedicated to performing arts, created and built from the ground up in Independent Lithuania, opened its doors to the public.

Gabriele ČIUNKAITĖS, KVMT inf.
Author’s photo.