Radvila Perkūnas

Radvila Perkūnas (Radziwiłł the Piorun, Radziwiłł the Thunderbolt) is a Lithuanian-language opera in four acts by Jurgis Karnavičius to the libretto of a musical play written for the opera by Balys Sruoga which premiered at the Kaunas State Theater on February 15, 1937, on the eve of the Independence Day. Although Sruoga was not satisfied either with Karnavičius' music, nor with the production by the director P. Olekas, nevertheless the opera met with great success with the public.[1]

In 1948 when the theatre archive was moved to the new capital Vilnius, the opera score was considered lost but the opera was revived and staged at the Kaunas State Musical Theater during the 2018 International Mykolas Oginskis Festival, conducted by Jonas Janulevičius, performed by orchestra, choir, ballet artists and soloists of the Kaunas State Musical Theatre.[2][3]

Plot

The opera is set at the time of Krzysztof "Piorun" Radziwiłł when the rivalry between the most powerful families of Lithuania - the Radvilas and the Chodkiewiczs - almost descended into civil war.[4]

Roles

Note: "Katkus" below refers to the surname Chodkiewicz, coming from Chodko, i.e., Chodko Jurewicz, founder of the Chodkiewicz family

  • KRISTUPAS RADVILA PERKUNAS
  • JONUŠAS, son of Kristupas Radvila
  • SOFIJA OLELKAITĖ, Duchess of Sluck
  • JERONIMAS KATKUS, Vilnius castellan
  • SOFIJA KATKUVIENĖ, Katkus's wife
  • Merkelis Giedraitis, Bishop of Samogitia
  • RUTKA, Jesuit monk
  • BUOŽIUS, Vilnius man
  • BILDŽIUS, Radvila nobleman,
  • MIKNILA, Radvila noble
  • BRUŽYS, Katkus nobleman
  • AGNĖ, Sofia's friend
  • MAGDĖ, member of Katkus court
  • SKARIJA, Vilnius Jew, merchant
  • BEGGAR
  • I VILNIUS WOMAN
  • II VILNIUS WOMAN
  • KNIGHTS

References
  1. Lituanus - Volume 21 - Page 48 1975 Finally , the opera was completed and presented as the first Lithuanian opera in independent Lithuania on February 16 , 1933 , in Kaunas , the fifteenth anniversary to the day of Lithuanian Independence . It met with great success Within the succeeding five years he wrote another opera , Radvila Perkūnas , which had its premiere in 1937
  2. "OPERA MYKOLO OGINSKIO FESTIVALYJE" (retrieved May 10, 2023)
  3. Istorinėje erdvėje skambės istorinė opera „Radvila Perkūnas“
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