The ‘City in Notes’

Between the 4th and 18th centuries, there was a wooden settlement on the site, which Italian architects developed in the 16th century. The walls were enlarged and elaborately transformed into Renaissance palaces. Almost all the Grand Dukes of Lithuania resided there.

It was a true hotbed of culture, representing the architecture, political, social, and especially the cultural life of the Grandy Duchy of Lithuania. The Palace was famous for its extremely rich library, beautiful tapestries, paintings, and jewellery collections. Its exceptional cultural life is reflected in the premiere of the opera Il ratto di Helena (The Abduction of Helena) in the autumn of 1636. At the time, Vilnius was ahead of the major capitals in that it was only the third city in Europe to perform a new genre of music – opera.

Today, the Palace of the Grand Dukes, rebuilt on the site of the former Lower Castle, is once again the centre of musical life as music frequently resounds around this venue.

The spiritual growth of society is well reflected in the work of St. Stanislaus and St. Vladislaus Cathedral Basilica, built on the site of a pagan temple (in Romanesque and Gothic styles) after the baptism of King Mindaugas of Lithuania. After his death, it became a pagan shrine again and burnt down in the early 15th century. The cathedral, built in the 16th century, housed a three-grade school for music, which was the beginning of the professionalisation of music education. The cathedral took on a classical appearance at the end of the 18th century, when the sanctuary was destroyed in a storm and the famous architect Laurynas Gucevičius undertook the reconstruction. After the 1931 flood of Vilnius inundated the Cathedral’s crypts, the royal remains were discovered and are now preserved in the Cathedral’s cellars. The Cathedral has been the victim of several fires and looting, and was turned into the Vilnius Picture Gallery during the Soviet era. Having lost its religious purpose, it has become a cultural shrine, where not only art but also music has been revived. The Cathedral was the birthplace of the golden age of organ music, and a new sound not only of religious music but also of academic classical music.

This magnificent building is mentioned as early as the 14th century when it was the residence of the Goštautas family of nobles. The Bishop’s Palace was built in the 16th and 17th centuries. After the fateful partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1795), when Lithuania was occupied by the Russian Empire, the rebuilt palace became the residence of the Governor General of Vilnius by order of Alexander I.

During the Soviet era, the building was restored by the architect R. Kazlauskas and took on a new purpose; it became the Palace of Art Workers (Artists), in which a 200-seat cinema and cultural events hall were located on the site of the former chapel, while the other representative halls were also used for cultural events.

The Artists’ Palace was known as a legendary venue for contemporary music and the avant-garde of the time. Concerts of different genres were held in different rooms of the building. This was the place where the legendary jazz trio GTČ (Ganelin Trio), the well-known bard Vytautas Kernagis, and many others played at the beginning of their career. After Lithuania regained its independence, the staff of the Art Workers’ Palace were evicted.

From the very beginning, the Jesuits devoted a great deal of attention to the cultural activities of Vilnius University. Music and theatre flourished, in particular, through the staging of various plays and performances; dance evenings were also organised and theatrical religious and academic festivals were held. In addition to its didactic purpose, the theatre had a very practical one – to help students learn to speak expressively and feel at ease in front of an audience.

In 1785, Wojciech Bogusławski, the founder of the Warsaw theatre company, started to create a public theatre in Vilnius, but he moved to Vilnius because his work was heavily criticised in Warsaw, while in Lithuania he did not face such pressure. Since the theatre was not characterised by unity of genres, it was a friendly coexistence of ascetic but chic, visually beautiful, educational and romantic theatre. This was different from the theatres of the manor houses and churches that had dominated before, which were dominated by a clear, site-specific genre and expression.

Over time, the theatre moved from the Oskierki Palace, which had been used as a theatre for a decade, to the Small Radvilas Palace, where it remained until 1810. At that time, the theatre was known as the Grand Theatre and was well attended, ‘although in winter, theatregoers risked catching a cold when watching performances, as the roof of the building was leaky, the sky was clearly visible through the ceiling and the temperature dropped sharply’. In 1810, Professor J. Frank had the idea of moving the theatre to the Town Hall, where conditions were much better.

In the 19th century, the Town Hall was not only important to the townspeople as a reminder of the former municipal government but also attracted performers and musicians. The Grand Hall of the Town Hall was reconstructed and adapted in 1845 to house the Vilnius City Theatre, which operated there for almost 80 years. It entertained audiences with concerts, masquerades, operas and dramas, and the square in front was named ‘Theatre Square’. In 19th-century Vilnius, the theatre was often the place around which almost all cultural life revolved.

The theatre showcased classic pieces and recent masterpieces by musicians. This institution created the identity of the townspeople, the direction of its formation, and the professionalism of performing arts performers grew there. The city’s theatre was the venue for most of the city’s cultural events (usually opera and drama performances), while concerts in the capital were much less frequent.

In the 19th century, the ‘Little Theatre of Vilnius’ (Mažasis Vilniaus Teatras) suffered from financial deprivation, even though it was a major cultural and educational centre.

After the unsafe and dilapidated theatre was closed down in 1924, the building was restored a little more than a decade later, according to the surviving drawings by Laurynas Gucevičius. In 1940, after the Soviet occupation, the Town Hall became the Art Museum. The Town Hall had a special mission at the end of the Soviet era. For four years, it became a secret place where the treasury found in Vilnius Cathedral on 27 March 1987 was stored.

Since 1999, the Town Hall has once again become the city’s representative building.

Until the turn of the 20th century, the capital did not have a suitable venue for concerts and theatre, so the city’s authorities at the time decided to reconstruct the Merchants’ House and build the City Hall there. The reconstruction project was designed by Vilnius city architect Konstantin Koroyedov, who changed the commercial function of the building into a cultural one. As the hall was intended to be an exclusive gathering place for the city’s elite, the exterior of the building was designed to be luxurious, with an elaborate Baroque-style dome, following the example of the 19th-century Grand Opéra in Paris.

The new City Hall became the epicentre of major cultural and political events. Fyodor Gretapin, Sergey Rachmaninov, Alexander Skriabin, Alexander Glazunov, and others performed here. Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis conducted the choir of the Lithuanian Self-Benefit Society in this hall. In 1909, Jascha Heifetz, a Vilnius-born wunderkind who became one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, made his first appearance on stage. In addition to classical music concerts, it also hosted theatre performances, various public gatherings, the first Lithuanian bookshop, the Great Vilnius Seimas, and the first Lithuanian opera ‘Birutė’. During the First World War, the building housed a military hospital, a cinema, and several schools.

The Philharmonic in Lithuania was only established in 1940 in the former City Hall. Vilnius was about to start a great musical tradition with symphony concerts every Thursday and Sunday played to a packed-out audience in the brand-new concert hall.

When martial law was again declared in Vilnius, and the Philharmonic Hall was flooded by the invading German army, the building served as a telephone communications office for the battlefield. After the Nazis drove the Jews of Vilnius into the ghetto, the director of the orchestra, who paid salaries to Jewish musicians and gave them the opportunity to hide, immediately dismissed them. Seven of them were hidden in the library, where they secretly worked as note typesetters creating musical notations.

When the Red Army occupied Lithuania in August 1944, the Vilnius Philharmonic was restored, but its cultural activities were very irregular. Over time, the building regained its prestige.

The current Lithuanian National Philharmonic is Lithuania’s largest concert institution.

Theatre in the face of death is probably the most appropriate name for a theatre in the Jewish ghetto. This exceptional theatre was founded on 18 January 1942 in the Large Vilnius Ghetto and was met with extremely controversial reactions from the ghetto residents. Although it soon became an integral part of ghetto life, most of the imprisoned Jews initially felt it was neither the time nor the place to be having fun. At the time, there were many black-framed announcements in the ghetto: “The cemetery is no place for theatre.” Although the theatre was not open for a full year, it was loved by many during that time. The audience not only consisted of the ghetto inhabitants but also of the Nazis who led their extermination. The theatre’s plays and concerts were very well attended. In the short lifetime of this exceptional theatre, more than 100 productions were staged, and 34,804 tickets were sold. The hall was always packed, and the funds raised went to support the ghetto poor. In the face of death, theatre became a spiritual and moral source of strength for the suffering people forced into the ghetto. The ghetto had two choirs (in Yiddish and Hebrew) and hosted classical music concerts. The building is now the home of the Puppet Theatre.

Until the Second World War, this building provided the setting for the active social life of the city’s elite: the most lavish parties and meetings of cultural patrons took place here. Devastated after the war, the palace was restored only in 2011 thanks to the personal initiative and contributions of the members of the Vilnius Club, which was established here in 1998.

After a fire devastated Vilnius in the mid-18th century, the wooden buildings were replaced by a brick palace, which was then rebuilt several times. In the early 20th century, the palace, which belonged to Countess Janina Umiastowska, was the venue for high society banquets with as many as 400-500 guests. The palace was particularly notable for the Lithuanian parties held in secret behind closed doors.

During the Soviet era, the magnificent palace was devastated, with 33 lorries of furniture and other furnishings taken away. It housed the Society for the Protection of Monuments and Local Ethnography, the Theatre and Music Museum, and the Vilnius City Local History Museum. After Lithuania regained its independence, it was decided to reconstruct the building after thorough exploratory research.

Since Vilnius did not have an impressive building constructed specifically to serve as a theatre, in 1913, construction began through a private initiative of the first purpose-built theatre. The building was very well received in the press at the time. The architects were praised for their ability to harmoniously combine elements of the architecture of old Kraków with those prevalent in Vilnius. The architects made this decision to reflect the shared history of both countries. It is an excellent example of the historical eclecticism and art nouveau styles of Vilnius theatre architecture of the early 20th century.

Before the Second World War, at least ten different troupes performed on Didžioji Pohulianka Street (now Basanavičiaus Street). Hence, the inhabitants of Vilnius used to call it simply the Pohulianka Theatre. When Lithuania regained the Vilnius region in 1939, Polish troupes were replaced by Lithuanian art collectives. The Lithuanian National Drama Theatre, the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, and the State Youth Theatre have all used this theatre building at various times. When the Opera and Ballet Theatre moved from Kaunas to the theatre in Vilnius on Basanavičiaus Street in 1948, the opera and ballet performances that had long been a favourite of the city’s inhabitants were revived again. Despite facing financial and political difficulties, the theatre was not lacking in talented and dedicated individuals. After the construction of the new LNOBT (Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre) building, the company moved to A. Vienuolio Street. In 1986, the Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre took up residence within the premises, which remained for several years; in 2022, it was renamed the Vilnius Old Theatre.

In 1907, Dr Jonas Basanavičius came up with the idea of building a centre of national culture in Vilnius – the House of the Nation, with the aim of educating, uniting the nation, and strengthening Lithuanian identity in the capital. In 1911, a plot on Pamėnkalnis was selected. The building never came into being, even though many public figures, luminaries, and Lithuanian organisations of the time collected and donated money for its construction. Most of the funds raised were taken to Russia by the Russo-Asiatic Bank in 1914 and later nationalised by the Bolsheviks.

During the Soviet era, discussions took place about creating a ‘Victory Park’ in Pamėnkalnis with a ‘Victory’ monument, but the project was never implemented. The idea of building a new Opera House on the hill was considered, but it was rejected due to fears that ladies in high heels would not be able to climb such a steep hill in winter.

However, it was decided that the city needed a large event hall, so in 1956, the Trade Union Cultural Palace was built at the top of the hill, with a huge 1000-seat auditorium.

The palace was also home to the Youth Theatre until 1982. After 1990, unsuccessful attempts were made to convert the building into a cinema and a club, and in 2004, the building was badly damaged by fire. In 2019, the building was demolished. In 2030, the National Concert Hall ‘House of the Nation’ will be built on the site.

In 1903, a conservative-style building was erected in Vilnius on the then St. George’s (now Gedimino) Avenue, as the modernist style was popular in the capital. The interior was solidly luxurious. The building has undergone several renovations to modernise the premises.

The current central building of the LAMT was built for the Russian Gymnasium for Girls in Vilnius, but the purpose of the building has changed with the changes in the system. It was only in 1947 that the Vilnius Conservatoire, headed by Jonas Bendorius, started its activities here; music continues to grace the corridors to this day. After the restoration of independence, the Conservatoire was renamed the Lithuanian Academy of Music, and later, the theatre part was added, so since 2004, it has been known as the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.

The popularity of opera, in particular, led to the construction of opera houses in many major European cities in the mid-nineteenth century. Still, unfortunately, the capital of Lithuania, which was then part of the Russian Empire, did not have sufficient funding for this art.

During the years of Polish rule, the Lithuanian opera moved from Vilnius to Kaunas. The Opera House was renamed the State Theatre when ballets and drama productions began to be staged there.

The State Opera and Ballet Theatre moved to Vilnius in 1948, but it was not until 1974 that a theatre was built to accommodate this type of activity. The new Opera and Ballet Theatre, designed by the architect E. N. Bučiūtė, is sometimes compared to the silhouette of a phantom emerging from the river Neris. It is a ‘serpent’s crown’ building with a black and white rectangular façade, reflecting late modernism. As you walk up the stairs of the theatre’s main entrance, you are greeted by the theatre’s glass-covered foyer, whose original, innovative Czech chandeliers can be seen by every passer-by. The interior of the theatre is shaped through the interplay of red clay bricks, yellowish glass, brass and natural wood, creating an atmosphere of warm tones.