operette Judita

Filled with enchanting melodies, it surprises with its strong intensity and "operatic" rich music, offering more than just light entertainment.

Judita is considered to be Lehár's best work, and it was also the composer’s personal favorite. It is truly emotionally deep, captivating, and magnetic. To mark the 155th anniversary of the composer’s birth, the Operette Theatre is staging it for the first time in Latvia in the history of musical theatre! It is created as a musical-opera.

PLOT:
The beautiful and uncontrollable Judita feels trapped in a cage of marriage to her husband, Manuel. Everything in her life changes when she meets the charismatic Captain Octavio. The passion between them is so strong that Judita leaves her past behind and runs away with him.

Their love blossoms in a foreign land – a sun-drenched North African city. They dream, sing, and love, but fate intervenes: Octavio is called to war. Left alone, Judita finds the strength within herself to become an artist. Her voice and extraordinary beauty make her a star and a celebrity in a luxurious club where visitors admire her brilliant talent. However, beneath this shining mask lies deep loneliness.

The sparkling and carefree Anita and her lover Pierino enjoy life simply, tenderly, and easily, and their relationship is filled with joy and humor, as well as dreams of a shared future.

CAST:
Judita – ANTA JANKOVSKA (soprano/Italy) or ANASTASIJA DOLGOŅENKO (soprano)
Octavio – DAINIS SKUTELIS (tenor) or JURIS JOPE (tenor)

Also starring: Jolanta Strikaite, Emīls Kivlenieks, Nauris Indzeris, Inmārs Sikle, Patrīcija Kozlovska, Henrijs Kozlovskis, and others.
Chorus, dancers, and symphonic orchestra.

Conductors: Atvars Lakstīgala, assistant conductor Artūrs Plaudis (conducting on March 20 and April 14)
Director: Gernot Kranner (Austria), assistant director Sonora Vaice
Choreographer: Ieva Kemlere
Costume designer: Aleksandra Brandner (Germany)
Costume designer – implementation leader: Vita Radziņa
Set designer: Herwig Libowitzky (Austria)
Video artist-set designer: Ineta Sipunova
Lighting designer: Ivars Vācers
Technical director for set design development: Ansis Gornavs

Translation: Evita Mamaja
Orchestration: Pola Bernarda Bernota
Creative director: Agija Ozoliņa-Kozlovska

Director Gernot Kranner has staged Judita with great success several times, including at the Lehár Festival in Bad Ischl (Austria) in 2007, but this will be his first staging of the operette in Latvia. The Lehár Festival in Bad Ischl (Das Lehár Festival Bad Ischl) is the largest operette festival in Austria, and its diversity and quality are unique worldwide.

This production was made with funding from Altum and VKKF.