Opera "Cendrillon" will premiere today at the Kaunas State Musical Theatre, Lithuania. "Cendrillon" is an opera - described as a "fairy tale" - in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn based on Perrault's 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale.

The first rehearsal week of "Cendrillon" by Jules Massenet draws to an end. 
In this production, the Cinderella fairy tale takes place on the backdrop of the glamorous world of fashion, complete with runway shows and model fittings. The staging zooms in on the lives and ambitions of the wealthy and powerful De La Haltière family. It deals with the topic of dull reality versus irresistible virtual reality. And, of course, tells a story of a young woman living in forsaken circumstances whose life suddenly changes to remarkable fortune. Using the original ballet music of the piece, "Cendrillon" will have three fashion shows demonstrating the creations of the high-end fashion label De La Haltière. All of the collections are put together using the principles of circularity - redesigning garments and recapturing “waste” as a resource to manufacture new products.

Cendrillon is an opera described as a "fairy tale in music" by Jules Massenet, based on Perrault's 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale. The opera is produced by  Pärnu International Opera Music Festival PromFest in cooperation with Kaunas State Musical Theatre. The premiere of the opera about overcoming self-doubt and achieving true happiness is set to take place on September 7th, 2023.

The characters of "Il Turco in Italia" literally take to their heels, escaping from the drawings and ending up as real objects. Here is a quick look into the workshop of Marina Kazijeva who crafts the glitzy footwear of this opera by hand.

See the video trailer of the preparations of Rossini's "Il Turco in Italia"

The story of Rossini's “Il Turco in Italia” revolves around a young Turkish prince, who driven by a tempest, lands in Italy and falls in love with the first pretty woman that chance throws in his way. Object of his desire, a beautiful Italian Fiorilla is of course delighted with the attention and sees this as a welcome opportunity to torment her jealous husband. The plot thickens when it turns out that the prince also has an abandoned mistress still in love with him and Fiorella is admired by a lover who is not yet willing to give up his position. A worthy scenario for an opera, soap-opera or indeed… a TV show.

Here is a little foretaste of the design for the upcoming production of Gioachino Rossini's opera buffa "Il turco in Italia" (The Turk in Italy).
The production will premiere in September 2021.

Video of the 2019 production of Bellini's sparkling masterpiece "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" is now available in full length at the Youtube channel of Pärnu International Opera Music Festival PromFest.

Today Bellini's bel canto masterpiece "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" will have it's second premiere, the opening night in Lithuania, on the stage of the National Kaunas Drama Theatre. 

It's time to rise the curtain for the premiere of Bellini's "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" in Pärnu, Estonia.  The stage director of the production is Katrin Tegova, musical director Erki Pehk, set and costume designer Madis Nurms, choreographer Dainius Bervingis, lighting designer Margus Vaigur, video by Argo Valdmaa. 

The design is inspired by two musical moments in the opera: first a recurring theme from Sinfonia that resembles galloping horses and secondly a phrase from Giulietta's aria:  "I burn, a blaze, a fire  all my torment" (Ardo...una vampa, un foco  tutta mi strugge). First of the two inspired the central images of the set design, another provided the gleaming-hot orange color scheme of the costumes.    

See how the bel canto masterpiece Bellini's "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" is coming together in the workshops of Kaunas State Music Theatre in Lithuania.