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This spring evening invites you to experience stories of passionate love and death, love and the sea through the sounds of music, topping everything with gliding in the impressive waltz from Richard Strauss’ opera Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose). The Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, led by the charismatic conductor Victorien Vanoosten, will open the concert with excerpts from Richard Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde (1859) – a tragic song of unhappy love which, according to the composer, reveals ‘the depths of spiritual experience.’ Its music unveils the various shades of love between the two main characters.

For French composer Ernest Chausson’s vocal cycle Poème d’amour et de la mer (Poem of Love and the Sea) the LNSO will be joined by the soloist, baritone Modestas Sedlevičius. The work stands out for its poetic nature, with the composer’s inspirations – the delicate lilac, the blue of the sea and sky, leaves falling in the wind, and air filled with the scent of blossoms – embodied in sounds. In this symbolist composition, Chausson conveys the human world, feelings and experiences. 

At the time of the premiere of Poème de l’amour et de la mer (Poem of Love and the Sea) in 1893, Claude Debussy began working on his only opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, a mystical musical drama rich in impressionist light and shadow. Tonight, the audience will hear the opera suite arranged by conductor Vanoosten.

Sedlevičius, winner of various competitions, one of the most prominent singers of his generation, delivers roles in various European theatres. Having accumulated a considerable operatic repertoire, the soloist also gives concerts, performing cycles such as Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), Schumann’s Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Love), Schubert’s Winterreise (Winter Journey), and other opuses.