Independent artist group ‘Kliudžiau’
The ‘Kliudžiau’ group started its collaboration in Vilnius in 2009, with the intention to create a short multimedia opera based on a famous Lithuanian story by writer Jonas Biliunas, ‘Kliudžiau’ (‘I hit the mark’). The collaborative endeavour brought together composer Rūta Vitkauskaitė, stage designer Simona Biekšaitė, actress Irina Lavrinovič, video artists Mykolas Budraitis and librettist Gabrielė Labanauskaitė.
The group members were united by their professional expertise in their fields, and clear vision of the interdisciplinary result, along with a strong desire to push their artistic boundaries through deep collaboration with one another. At the final stage of creating the opera ‘Kliudžiau’ the group also involved choreographer Marija Simona Šimulynaitė, singer Viktorija Miškūnaitė, multi-instrumentalist Andrius Maslekovas, and sound director Christian Francois, who later became the group’s technical director. An adopted cat Kašaras Biliūnas-Kliudžiau has also joined the team and the household of creators. The result of their collaboration was presented at the NOA 2010 Festival in Vilnius and the Druskomanija 2010 Festival in Druskininkai. Due to its multimedia and animation, it was named the Animated Opera “Kliudžiau.”
The group’s second collaboration, opera ‘ID’, expanded the technical elements even further, including a live Skype call with all the usual internet delays and hiccups, leading to its being named the ‘Skype Opera ID’. The project invited further collaborations with theatre director Yanna Ross, and singer George Holloway, and was presented at the NOA 2011 Festival in Vilnius, Lithuania and at the Tbilisi International Theatre Festival 2011 in Georgia.
In 2012 the group was invited to the coOPERAtions Lab in Aarhus, curated by composer Line Tjørnhøj, where the opera ‘Kliudžiau’ was workshopped with local musicians and singers from the Royal Danish Opera, resulting in an innovative live performance. Finally, in 2013, the group, whose members were now living in different countries across Europe, met in a workshop setting to develop their ideas, but they discovered that their opinions differed not only on the topics, but also on their working methods. This was a sign that the collaboration had reached its natural conclusion, and the group dissolved.
Animated Opera ‘Kliudžiau’ (2010)
This short, half-hour opera pushes the boundaries of conventional opera by casting an actress as the lead vocalist and a real snow-white cat as the other main character. The libretto was crafted to make it appear as though the cat was an active participant in the performance. The stage is dominated by a huge laptop screen (3x5m) as the centrepiece, while the “orchestra” is composed of two people playing a variety of instruments, including electronics, drum set, percussion, a home-made double bass, violin, and accordion. The plot follows a young girl who becomes engrossed in a computer game and mistakenly perceives her beloved cat as a dangerous enemy. The character’s reality is overtaken by a sense of euphoria and misplaced power, ultimately making her go just a step to far and leading to a tragic conclusion. The story is based on a novel by Jonas Biliūnas.
Cast included creators – composer Rūta Vitkauskaitė (LT/UK), stage designer Simona Biekšaitė (LT/NOR), actress/signer Irina Lavrinovič (LT/BE) and video artists Mykolas Budraitis (LT); and invited artists multi-intrumentalist Andrius Maslekovas (LT), technical director Christian Francois (BE), choreographer Marija Simona Šimulynaitė (LT), librettist Gabrielė Labanauskaitė (LT), soprano Viktorija Miškūnaitė (LT), and cat Kašaras Biliūnas-Kliudžiau.
Duration: 30 minutes
Format: staged opera
Performers: 6 (actress, soprano, cat, two musicians, live video)
Skype Opera ‘ID’ (2011)
‘ID’ is a multimedia opera examining the theme of love in a world increasingly connected through technology. The story followed the journey of Irka, a Lithuanian girl, who falls in love with George, an English guy. Using real Skype technology, the opera showcases the emotional ups and downs of their long-distance relationship and Irka’s conflicting feelings of passion and frustration. It also featured a huge laptop imitation as its centrepiece, a symbol of the “fake reality” in the digital age.
Since all the members of the group were living in different countries at the time, they workshopped for only two weeks to create the story, libretto, structure and duration of the scenes, and to fine tune all technical details. After working separately on their individual tasks, the group met again for a final rehearsal and their performances at the NOA 2011 Festival in Vilnius, Lithuania and the Tbilisi International Theatre Festival 2011 in Georgia.
Cast included creators – composer Rūta Vitkauskaitė (LT/UK), stage designer Simona Biekšaitė (LT/NOR), actress/signer Irina Lavrinovič (LT/BE) and video artists Mykolas Budraitis (LT) and theatre director Yana Ross (USA/LT); and invited artists multi-intrumentalist Andrius Maslekovas (LT), technical director Christian Francois (BE), poet Gabrielė Labanauskaitė (LT), tenor George Holloway (UK), animators Jan Hajdelak (NOR) and Lingailė Ziukaite (LT), and a group of people via open call for “crowd“ scene.
Duration: 40 min.
Format: staged opera
Performers: 6 (actress, tenor, two musicians, live scenography, live video) and 10-15 people for ‘crowd’ scene
‘Kliudžiau II’ (2012)
In 2012, Kliudžiau group was invited to take part in a CoOPERAtion Laboratory in Aarhus, together with 11 new members from the Danish music scene, to find new ways of reinterpreting traditional opera. The project was produced by AUT – Aarhus Unge Tonekunstnere, and presented in Godsbanen, Denmark.
The group’s opera project focused on children’s relationship with computer games, and was based on the children’s story Kliudžiau by Lithuanian author Jonas Biliūnas.
The lab presented itself as a big challenge due to the large group size and the differences among the participants. As a composer, Rūta Vitkauskaitė’s intention was to work with the group as a living structure, which is what led her to remove the score from the musicians, allowing them to play only from memory. Starting with artistic misunderstandings, the group managed to developed an awareness of collective improvisation and composition and to achieve a creative and productive process, delivering a spectacular stage show.
Initiator and artistic director of the project was Line Tjørnhøj, composer, produced by AUT – Aarhus Unge Tonekunstnere.
Cast included creators – composer Rūta Vitkauskaitė (LT/UK), stage designer Simona Biekšaitė (LT/NOR), actress/signer Irina Lavrinovič (LT/BE), video artists Mykolas Budraitis (LT), technical director Christian Francois (BE), and cat Kašaras Biliūnas-Kliudžiau, joined by soprano Stine Elbæk Gomard, performance consultant Annika B. Lewis, Ensemble LYDENSKAB (Jeppe Uggerhøj trumpet, Thea Vesti Pedersen guitar, Eskild Skovbakke Winding piano, Karolina Leedo flute, Mathias Reumert percussion), singers from The Danish National Opera (Pernille Madsen soprano, Susanne Vinther alto, Thomas Christian Sigh baritone).
CoOPERAtion was supported by the Danish Arts Council’s Music Dramatic Committee and the DIVA programme, Aarhus Municipality’s Cultural Development, Open Stage – Godsbanen, Nordic Culture Point’s Culture and Art Programme, Danish Musicians’ Union, Piano Værkstedet Mattsson & McGehee, Danish Composers’ Society Group and KODA National Funds, and Danish Actors Association.
Duration: 60 minutes
Format: staged opera
Performers: 11 – actress, soprano, 3 choir singers, 5 musicians, live video mapping
