Opera "GEROS DIENOS!" | Kaunas

"Good day!"

Opera for 10 cashiers, supermarket sounds and piano

The plot of the opera "Good day!" is created by the different fates of cashiers, usually hidden under in the guise of artificial smiles and mechanical service - "Good day!", "Thank you!", "Good day!" Invisible in everyday life, robot-like saleswomen act as bright characters in the opera. The salespeople's thoughts, their CVs heard by the audience become a short, individual drama. The characters of cashiers are easily recognizable types that embody universal realities. The libretto of the opera intertwines colloquial, literary language and current affairs.

The atmosphere of the shopping center is recreated by an installation of daylight lamps and ambient sounds, which connects the audience hall with the space of 10 cashiers working on the stage. The decoration of the stage is minimal: the goods - like the obligatory, literal decoration of the supermarket - function in the opera in musical and verbal forms.

The main sound of the opera is a constant beeping that accompanies the scanned product. He silences it, it makes it louder, but it never stops. The songs of the cashiers, accompanied by this sound, are reminiscent of the shopping process in their monotony. In the opera "Good days!", the music emphasizes the thoughts of the characters, helps them to hear them.

The creators of the opera avoid a moralizing tone: the critical attitude towards capitalism is revealed with humor, using irony and poetry. The mosaic of different fortunes of cashiers merges into a common chorus - a universal poem affirming the pleasure of consumption.

Creative group

Concept authors: Vaiva Grainytė, Lina Lapelytė, Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė

Libretto author Vaiva Grainytė

Composer and music director Lina Lapelytė

Director and set designer Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė

Lighting artist Eugenijus Sabaliauskas

Costume designer Daiva Samajauskaitė

Sound director Arūnas Zujus

Producer Operomania

Cashiers: Indrė Anankaitė-Kalashnikovienė, Liucina Blaževič, Vida Valuckienė, Anna Miščenko, Lina Valionienė, Rima Šovienė, Milda Švelnienė, Rita Račiūnienė, Svetlana Bagdonaitė, Kristina Svolkinaitė

Protection: Kęstutis Pavalkis (piano)

2013 The International Theater Institute (ITI) selected the opera "Good days!" to the final of the competition "Music Theater NOW" (Biennale of Performing Arts, Jönköping, Sweden) - the performance was awarded the Globe Teana-Theatre Observation prize. in 2014 the opera "Geros dienos!" was awarded the Golden Stage Cross as the best 2013. production by Lithuanian authors; also won two prizes of the "Baltic Theater Festival" (Riga, Latvia) and the main prize of the "Fast Forward" festival (Braunschweig, Germany). The performance was presented at various international music, theater and opera festivals in Lithuania, the USA, China, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, France, Germany, Switzerland, Ukraine, Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy and more than 30 significant festivals and organizations, such as Teatro Argentina (Rome ), Munich Kammerspiele, Golden Mask (Moscow), Maria Matos (Lisbon), Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, Operadagen Rotterdam and many others. The opera was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Lithuanian National Radio. in 2018 Good Day! vinyl released.

Critical Reviews

Witful, charming and subtly diverse. A subtle and witty critique of the pitfalls of capitalism and morbid consumerism.

Steve Smith, The New York Times

A tightly constructed, multi-layered work laced with humor melancholy.

Alex Ross, The New Yorker

It's like a mini-masterpiece. You will neither add nor subtract - very solid, very simple and very real.

Jonas Mekas, www.jonasmekas.com

A masterpiece of black comedy... wrapped in a mesmerizing, almost liturgical calm.

Justin Davidson, New York Magazine

…minimalist textures reviving the whirlwind of everyday life – banality transformed into art. The opera is witty and poignant.

Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal

Duration: 55 minutes

Premiered: 2011 . April 11, Contemporary Art Center, IV Contemporary Opera Festival NOA - short film version. in 2013 September 28, Arts Printing House, X International Vilnius Theater Festival "Sirens" - full-length version

The work is in Lithuanian with English subtitles

On the AllEvents portal you can always Buy tickets to an event Theater Opera "GEROS DIENOS!" | Kaunas, Kaunas, Nacionalinis Kauno dramos teatras September 07

* The description translation is done automatically. There may be inaccuracies. Be sure to check the event description on the ticket store website when buying tickets.