May

Osvaldas Grinius
www.kamane.lt 2008 05 28 

  In brief: The music that resounded at Kaunas Christ’s Resurrection Church on May 24 during the event called “Resurrected” may hardly be related with rock music, even though the organisers and the composer of the music piece Daniele Ricci called it a rock opera. Still, this name is more precise than a musical.

The title of the work is in a way related with “Jesus Christ Superstar” by Andrew Lloyd Webber staged in 1971 for the first time. These two works are similar not only by the theme but also by the Biblical plot telling about the pain and resurrection of the Christ. Therefore, the rock opera “Resurrected” could be called a shortened and lighter variant of “Jesus Christ Superstar”.

Even though the organisers of the event promised a concert performance, it stepped over the limits of this concept. The view could be called a full-fledged stage version with dynamics of movement and choreography. Impressive illumination and the sacral space of the church created suitable decorations. The decision of the director Nerijus Petrokas to use the choir as a decoration was also interesting.

Meanwhile, the sound of the performance was perhaps the only factor that obscured the mood of the evening. The sound of the phonogram dispersed in the echoing church, it lacked monumentality and clarity sometimes.

In addition to the important choir, the creators chose the character of Maria Magdalene (acted by Vilija Matačiūnaitė) as the central axis of the plot. The majority of the performers are representatives of academic singing, and the voice of Vilija stood out by the harsher timbre, chest register and sincere expression.

The role of Jesus was created by the owner of the strong and flexible baritone and noble stage look Ramūnas Urbietis. However, it seemed that the microphone could not cover all the qualities of this voice, it was hard to understand the sung text. If these obstacles were overcome, the role of Jesus could be really memorable.

Among secondary roles, the characters of the priest Cayaf and apostle Peter were important from the drama point of view. Cayaf was embodied by the singer Arūnas Lapkus, and the role of the apostle Peter was performed by the head of choirs and conductor Rolandas Daugėla. It is a pity that the performance organisers did not announce these names in posters, as the work done by them was really worth praising.

The performance of the choir was charming and effective. Stylish and smooth singing, sincere acting could not leave untouched people. Having in mind that the choir singers were enthusiasts from the church choir and students of Kaunas Faculty of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, the feeling of respect to them grows even more.

The implementation of the rock opera “Resurrected” is a bold step made by the organisers and the reserved Catholic church, which let in the untraditional genre into its space. It is probable that this step will inspire new unusual cultural events that will open doors of Lithuanian churches wider not only to sacral art but also to its new forms of expression attracting a number of people waiting for a live, interesting and attractive attitude towards eternal values of belief and existence.