The Theatres of Vilnius

The Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (architect – Eglė Bučiūtė) was built in 1974 and seats more than 1,000 people. It surprised Vilnius residents and visitors with its German brass finish, cosy red brick colouring, and unexpected lighting solutions (the German chandeliers, which are 14 metres high and resemble an amber castle, do not shine but reflect the light of floodlights); it has become the centrepiece of the left bank of the river Neris and the calling card of new Vilnius. The building had a modern stage built by German engineers; Finns designed the lighting, and Hungarians provided the sound equipment. From 1974 to 1990, the theatre was one of the most famous in the USSR, and guests from Western Europe toured the theatre while the theatre soloists had the opportunity to train in the West.

In 1990, ten 3.5 m high sculptures in hammered copper adorned the north façade. In 2021, the building was included in the Register of Cultural Heritage. The theatre currently employs more than 600 people (soloists, ballet dancers, choir, orchestra, costume and set designers, lighting designers, etc.).

Memorable roles in this theatre have been performed by theatre soloists, prima ballerinas Leokadija Aškelovičiūtė, Eglė Špokaitė, and guest soloist Jurgita Dronina. The Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre has hosted world-famous singers such as Virgilijus Noreika, Irena Milkevičiūtė, Violeta Urmana, Vladimir Prudnikov, Asmik Grigorian and others. 

The conductor Rimas Geniušas was associated with this theatre, and Gintaras Rinkevičius, one of the most famous conductors in Lithuania, has staged operas at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

This building, constructed in 1898, was the home of the architect Mikhail Prozorov and his wife, Sofija Prozorova and where a private girls’ gymnasium operated. The building had a magnificent hall used by various societies: the railway workers’ club, the art group, meetings of the intelligentsia and theatre performances. In 1905, the first public Lithuanian evening was held there, and for the first time in Vilnius, the play ‘America in the Bathhouse’ by the brothers, Antanas and Juozas Vilkutaitis (nicknamed Keturakis) was staged. The Vilnius Belarusian amateur musical theatre troupe used to put on their plays in the hall of the Railwaymen’s Club. In January 1913, in the ‘Sakalo’ hall where the current Teachers’ House (Mokytojų namai) is located at Vilniaus g 29, the group presented the premiere of the comedy ‘Paulinka’ (Paulinka) by the famous Belarusian writer Yanka Kupala – the Belarusian National Theatre in Minsk is now named after him, and the staff of the theatre quit their jobs in protest against the fraudulent 2020 elections in Belarus.

In the interwar period, the building housed the only Lithuanian gymnasium in Vilnius, and in 1930, on the initiative of Juozas Kanopka, the Vilnius Lithuanian Amateur Stage Company was founded (with students performing on stage), and in 1936 it was reorganised into Vilnius Lithuanian Theatre. In 1939, the theatre, which had become a professional theatre, was renamed the ‘Vilnius Flying Theatre Vaidila’. In 1945, the ‘Vaidila’ (‘Oracle’) troupe was incorporated into the Vilnius State Drama Theatre.

In 1992, the actor and director Adolfas Večerskis founded the private theatre ‘Vaidilos Ainiai’ (since 1997, known as the Adolfas Večerskis Theatre). Between 1993 and 2001, the popular TV programme ‘Muzikinis viešbutis’ (Musical Hotel) was filmed in the hall, hosted by Vilija Grigonytė and the maestro Vytautas Kernagis. Currently, the historic hall, known as the Vaidilos Theatre, is rented out for various public cultural and private events.

The Large (Didysis) Theatre, the grandest theatre in Vilnius at that time, with a grandiose interior and an auditorium seating more than a thousand people, was destroyed by a fire in 1904 and never rebuilt. The current theatre occupies another part of the same building; the glass-blocked ceiling was once part of the winter garden. It is said that only two buildings in Europe have retained such unique glass-blocked ceilings – one in Prague and the other in Vilnius. The hall, established in 1909, was rented to the Lithuanian cultural society ‘Rūta’, which organised plays, concerts and other national events. The composers Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Juozas Naujalis, Mikas Petrauskas, Stasys Šimkus, Česlovas Sasnauskas, and others were active in the society. Antanas Macijauskas’ vaudeville ‘The Enchanted Duke’, Žemaitė’s comedy about a priest in training’s affection for a woman ‘Our Dearest Father’ were performed here, as well as many others. To this day, the theatre’s staircase is decorated with a copy of a smaller version of the stage curtain painted by M. K. Čiurlionis. From 1935, the building was used by Polish Radio, and from 1940-1990 by the Lithuanian Radio, and as a recording studio. In 1990, the abandoned premises were assigned to the Small Theatre, and the move-in took until 2005. The plays directed by the founder and director of the theatre, Rimas Tuminas, such as ‘There Will Be No Death Here’, ‘Smile at Us, Lord’, ‘The Cherry Orchard’, ‘Masquerade’, have been awarded both Lithuanian and foreign prizes. The director received the National Award in 1994, as well as the Šv. Kristoforo Award in 1995 and 1997, while the Theatre itself was honoured in 1999 when it received the ‘Kristoforas Award’.

The last theatre building to disappear was tucked away between Vilniaus and Jogailos Streets, where the ‘Helios’, the largest cinema in the Baltics with a capacity of 1500 people, had been operating since 1915; theatrical performances took place there between the wars. On 6 June 1921, the Jewish play ‘The Dybbuk’ (or ‘Between Two Worlds‘) premiered in Vilnius in this cinema building. The play became famous among European Jews as the most popular play, and the ‘Vilna Actors’ Troupe’ (‘Vilner Troupe’ – from Yiddish) was considered one of the world’s most famous Jewish theatre companies. After the reconstruction in 1948, when the building was extended to the side of Jogailos Street, it housed the Russian Drama Theatre of Lithuania. From 1970 to 1974, the theatre was directed by the famous innovator director Roman Viktyuk. In 1986, reconstruction of the theatre began, but in 1999, a business centre was built on the site. After the reconstruction, the façade of the former theatre on the Vilnius Street side was restored, but without the sculptural composition above the entrance of the old cinema – all the decorations on the street were destroyed after the Second World War. This is the only such sculptural grouping that adorned the facades of buildings in Vilnius before the Second World War that has not been restored after Lithuania regained its independence. The sculptures’ Elekta’ on the old power station (Museum of Energy and Technology), Saint George on Gediminas Avenue, and ‘Atlas’ on the Merchants’ Club overlooking Lukiškės Square were restored in 1995, 2005, and 2009 respectively.

In the late 19th century, opposite the Land Bank building (Gedimino pr. 6), run by the famous Vilnius patron Józef Montwiłł, was the Craftsmen’s Fair building, on the third floor of which, in 1905, was the home of the Polish music society ‘Lutnia’, which had a small hall with a stage. In 1910, the 400-seat modernist Lutnia Theatre, designed by the architect Wacław Michniewicz, was attached to the bank building, and a passageway was created between it and the Craftsmen’s Fair building. In 1932-1941, performances of the musical ‘Lutnia’ operetta theatre took place. The building, which housed the Lithuanian State Drama Theatre (later called the Lithuanian State Academic Drama Theatre), was reconstructed after World War II in the style of Socialist Realism. A quarter of a century later, in 1976-1981, the reconstruction was carried out according to the design of the architects Vytautas and Algimantas Nasvytis. The site of the former arcade was replaced by an impressive foyer, reminiscent of the courtyards of the old town under the roof, and the uniqueness of the building is emphasised by the sculptures on the façade – the Three Muses by Stanislovas Kuzma – Drama (Kaliope), Comedy (Thalia) and Tragedy (Melpomene). The interior of the building is also decorated with the sculpture ‘Versmė’ by S. Kuzma. In addition to the Great Hall (650 seats), the Small Hall (156 seats) was created, which gave birth to the Small Theatre – a troupe of students from the Academic Drama Theatre and the then Lithuanian Conservatoire rehearsed in the hall and the performance of Valdemaras Kukulas and Rimas Tuminas’ play ‘There Will Be No Death Here’, which was performed on the stage of the Small Hall in December 1988, is considered to be the beginning of the theatre. The theatre has worked with directors Borisas Dauguvietis, Jonas Vaitkus, Gintaras Varnas, Oskaras Koršunovas, and others.

Renaissance theatrical performances (masquerades, tournaments, theatrical greetings of honoured guests, etc.) took place in Vilnius as early as the reign of Sigismund Augustus in the mid-16th century. 

The theatre in the Palace of the Grand Dukes of the Lower Castle operated from the first half of the 17th century, if not even a little earlier. During Sigismund Vasa’s residence in Vilnius in the early 17th century, professional English drama troupes performed in the Lower Castle. For example, in 1616, during the tour of J. Greene’s comedy theatre troupe, the works of English playwrights included William Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’. 

On the initiative of the ruler Władysław Vasa, a professional opera theatre was established in Vilnius in 1635, and in 1636 ‘The Abduction of Helena’ (Italian: Il ratto di Helena) was performed – the first opera in Lithuania. With this premiere, Vilnius became one of only a dozen cities in Europe (the first opera, ‘Daphne’, was staged in Florence in 1598) and one of only five cities outside Italy where the opera was performed, a few years ahead of London or Paris. ‘Andromeda’ and ‘Circe delusa’ were performed in 1644 and 1648. The libretti were written by Virgil Pucitel, while the music for ‘The Abduction of Helena’ was by the composer Marco Scacchi (the composers of the other two operas are unknown). The operas were performed in Italian.

Any hall of the Palace could have been used for theatre performances and opera, but it is believed that a temporary wooden building in the spacious courtyard of the Palace was built especially for this purpose. 

It has already been mentioned that the city’s first professional public theatre was housed in the Oskierki Palace, which was demolished in the post-war period, but there are many more now-defunct theatre buildings in Vilnius. The surviving wooden buildings of Vilnius theatres were located in Lukiškės Square (the circus building was also used for theatre) and in the Bernardine Garden. 

The Summer Theatre, also built in 1902 in the Bernardine Gardens, was a particularly splendid example of a modernist masterpiece designed by Konstantin Korojedov. It was the first building of this style in Lithuania and was demolished between the wars to make way for the ‘Šiaurės mugę’ (Northern Fair) in the park. From 1907 to 1910, this building housed a theatre run by the famous actress and director Nuna Mlodziejowska, where Juliusz Osterwa performed from 1907 to 1909. The theatre had 600 seats, 12 boxes, a balcony, and an orchestra pit. This professional theatre was the most important theatre in the city from 1906 to 1910. Its location can be found by standing by the fountain in the Bernardine Gardens and looking towards the Vilnia River and Altana Hill.

Since the second half of the 16th century, Vilnius University has been home to the so-called school theatre, a popular form of theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries, whose main centres were Rome, Vienna, Munich, Paris and, in Central and Eastern Europe – Vilnius. The first performance of this theatre was the comedy ‘Hercules’ by the Italian Stefano Tucci, performed on 18 October 1570 in the Grand Courtyard of the University. This theatre drew on the most advanced Spanish and Italian theatre traditions of the time. The repertoire of the theatre consisted of works by Western European and local playwrights, such as the 1687 Latin play ‘Algirdas, the Grand Duke of Lithuania’, etc., mainly in the international European language of the time, Latin, but also in other languages, including Lithuanian, in small plays or scenes.

In the 17th century, the most famous European poet of the time, Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, who was also a theoretician of school theatre, taught at Vilnius University.

The scripts for the University’s plays in the 17th and 18th centuries were written by the first local playwrights – the Jesuits Danielius Butvilas from Kaunas, Kristupas Garšvila from Lida, Žygimantas Liauksminas from Žemaitija, amongst others.

Vaclovas Narmuntas’ drama ‘Vilnius – the Throne of the Grand Dukes, the Capital of Lithuania’, performed in 1683, celebrated the capital of Lithuania. In the 17th and 18th centuries, more plays about Lithuania appeared: Duke Skirgaila, King Mindaugas, Dukes Vytenis, Kęstutis, Vytautas, Aleksandras, Stephen Báthory. The play was performed in the Great Courtyard, in the University Auditorium.

The current theatre hall of the University, which has classical features and is distinguished by its wooden construction, dates back to the mid-18th century. In 1804, the hall was converted into classrooms for physics lectures and experiments, and after the closure of the University, it became the church of the boys’ gymnasium, but school theatre did not disappear – at the end of the 19th century, the gymnasium pupil Vasily Katsalov, a future famous actor, started his creative career within the walls of the University – in school plays. In 1923, after the removal of the iconostasis, the hall was restored. Today, the hall belongs to the University Drama Theatre.

In 1785, Wojciech Bogusławski, an actor, singer and playwright, came from Warsaw and founded the city’s public theatre in Vilnius – in the Oskierki Palace on Klaipėdos Street. The troupe consisted of actors, singers, and musicians from Warsaw and other theatres of the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In 1796, under the direction of Dominykas Moravskis, the theatre moved to the adjacent Small Radziwiłłs Palace. The theatre was called the Grand Theatre and had 1000 seats. After the death of Moravskis, the theatre was managed by his wife, Marijana Korvelytė-Moravskienė, from 1801 to 1805. Performances were held at the Radziwiłł Palace until 1845, the troupes were made up of local actors, and the plays were mostly performed in Polish. The works of William Shakespeare, Friedrich Schiller, Victor Hugo, other Western European greats and local playwrights were performed. The set decorations were created by the great figures of Lithuanian art – Antanas Smuglevičius, Vincentas Dmachauskas, Albertas Žametas and others.

Currently, the Small Radziwiłł Palace, which was the home of the Grand Theatre, houses the Lithuanian Theatre, Music, and Cinema Museum, which has preserved the most valuable exhibits reflecting the history of Lithuanian theatres. 

At the beginning of the 20th century, the construction of a city theatre was considered in Vilnius. The initiative was taken by the city’s Polish community, which had no suitable premises for its own theatre. In 1913, a neo-baroque theatre in the style of Pavyslis, with modern elements, opened its doors, designed by the Vilnius architects Wacław Michniewicz and Aleksander Parczewski (from ‘Architekt’). Before World War II, the theatre was known as the Polish Theatre or simply the theatre in the Pohulianka district.

The theatre was the venue of the Lithuanian (Vilnius) Conference held in the theatre from 18-22 September 1917. Between 1922 and 1925, the building housed an opera theatre, and between 1925 and 1929, the experimental Polish theatre ‘Reduta’, founded by Juliusz Osterwa and Mieczysław Limanowski, was opened. It was probably the most famous and one of the best Polish theatres of the interwar period.

In 1940, the Vilnius State Drama Theatre was established here, where the play ‘Hope’ by Herman Heijermans about the life of fishermen was performed; it was directed by Romualdas Juknevičius. Its motif became the emblem of the National Drama Theatre. During the last 75 years, all the major Vilnius theatres have worked in this theatre at various times: the State Opera and Ballet Theatre from 1948 to 1974, the Lithuanian Academic Drama Theatre from 1974 to 1981, the State Youth Theatre from 1981 to 1982, and the Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre after 1986. In 2022, the theatre changed its name and became ‘Vilnius Old Theatre’.

The newest theatre in Vilnius, ‘Vilniaus klasika’, is located in an exceptional location: the Church of the Heart of Jesus, a modernist church built before the First World War and designed by the architect Antoni Wiwulski. It was to be the tallest church not only in Vilnius but also in the whole of Lithuania, dominating the skyline and creating a counterbalance to the Three Crosses in the west designed by the same architect. The impressive architecture of the church is sometimes compared to the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, designed by Antonio Gaudí. During the Soviet era, the unfinished church, which was used for services and baptisms of children, was converted into the Construction Workers’ Palace of Culture, and the walls of the church were covered like a sarcophagus. At the beginning of the 21st century, one of the first bowling alleys in Vilnius and a café operated on the premises. In 2019, thanks to the care of the soul mate of the ‘Vilniaus klasika’ (Vilnius Classic) theatre, the director and actor Albinas Arkauskas, some of the architectural elements of the old church (columns, arches, naves) were carefully uncovered highlighting as many features as possible from the vanished church.

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One of the Jewish theatres on Naugarduko Street was a 650-seat auditorium built in 1910, where performances by various Jewish companies were staged from 1912 to 1924 and from 1932 to 1938. The first Jewish theatre in Vilnius was established in 1918 when Nokhem Lipovski (Nahum Lipowski) founded the People’s Theatre. In 1932-1938, one of the Jewish theatres in Vilnius, the ‘Undzer Teater’ (‘Our Theatre’ in Yiddish, and from 1937, known as the Nayer Yidisher Teater), operated in the building. 

In the interwar period, Vilnius had a vibrant Jewish theatre life: several theatres and theatre companies were constantly operating, Yiddish and Hebrew plays were performed, and a puppet theatre and a children’s theatre were also established. The Vilnius Troupe, a collective of actors formed in 1916, soon split into several groups, some of which toured European countries and the United States, while others remained in Poland. It was one of the most famous Jewish theatre companies in the world. 

Today, the former theatre hall on Naugarduko Street houses the Tolerance Centre and the Samuel Bak Museum.

The first concerts and professional theatre performances were staged in the Town Hall building in the early 19th century, and from 1810 to 1924 (with interruptions), the town theatre was open for performances in Russian and Polish, with Italian and German companies visiting during tours. The excellent acoustics of the Town Hall were a pleasant surprise for touring actors, singers, and musicians from Western Europe.

In February 1809, Joseph Haydn’s oratorio ‘The Creation’ was performed at Vilnius Town Hall with the famous singer Christina Gerhardi (to whom the composer dedicated the soprano part of this oratorio).

In 1835, the Town Hall became home to the German Opera under the direction of Wilhelm Schmithof and a Czech orchestra. At that time, the theatre featured operas by some of Europe’s greatest composers, one of the most famous performers being the Italian baritone Giuseppe Bonoldi, a participant in the uprising of 1863-1864.

On 1 January 1848, Stanisław Moniuszko’s two-part opera ‘Halka’, the first opera in Polish, premiered at the theatre in Vilnius Town Hall on 1 January 1818. On 28 February 1854, the same four-part opera was presented.

Konstantin Nezlobin was the director of the Russian theatre in the Town Hall from 1894 to 1900, which was known throughout the Russian Empire. The famous Vera Komisarzhevskaya starred there for several seasons.

On 6 May 1906, the first official Lithuanian play after the ban on the press, the tragedy ‘The Duke of Pilėnai’ by Marcelinas Šikšnys, was staged in the theatre by the Vilnius Kanklės Society (‘kanklės’ are plucked stringed instruments that rest on the laps of players), headed by the playwright Gabrielius Landsbergis-Žemkalnis.

In 1906-1910, the theatre was used three times a week alternately by Russian and Polish troupes, while Lithuanians were allowed by the Tsarist authorities to perform once a month. In 1918-1919, the Town Hall was the home of the professional Lithuanian theatre ‘Skrajojamasis teatras’, founded by the director Juozas Vaičkus. A Polish theatre operated in the Town Hall building from 1919 to 1924.

In the late 19th century, Vilnius lacked a theatre and a concert hall, so the City Council financed the construction of the City Hall on the site of the Gothic merchants’ house, designed by architect Konstantin Korojedov. The City Hall was usually used for concerts but also for plays, operas and other events. The premiere of the first Lithuanian opera ‘Birutė’ (composed by Mikas Petrauskas, libretto by Gabrielius Landsbergis-Zemkalnis), staged by the Vilnius Kanklės Society took place on 6 November 1906.

In 1906, a Polish theatre under the direction of Nuna Mlodziejowska performed at the City Hall and elsewhere. On 27 April 2018, the premiere of Julius Slovacki’s play ‘Mindaugas – King of Lithuania’, directed by G. Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, took place at the City Hall.

In the interwar period, Jewish theatres used to present plays in the City Hall. In 1942-1944, the Philharmonic Opera House was still operating in this building.

The National Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuania’s largest concert organisation, was founded in 1944.

The building itself is full of mysterious touches, with a fragment of a medieval cross-street uncovered in the basement and, in the toilets, there is some glass covering a small underground brook.

The Vilna Ghetto Theatre, which operated from 1942 to 1943, marks a tragic period in the history of Vilnius. It was founded by the actor Shabtai Bliacher, a member of the Vilner Troupe, the writer Abraham Sutzkever, the directors Maks Viskind and Israel Segal, the actor Maks Shadovsky, and others. In 1942, the theatre staged 120 performances. The theatre was characterised by a great variety of genres: dramas, excerpts from operas and operettas, puppet shows, miniatures, etc. The theatre created chamber and symphony orchestras and hosted an art exhibition in which Samuel Bak, a nine-year-old boy who went on to become a world-renowned artist, made his debut and whose museum is located in Vilnius. The ghetto theatre was like a moral and spiritual source of strength for the people in the ghetto, helping them to keep going.

The Young Spectators’ Theatre was founded in 1966 and, until 1981, operated in the Profsąjungų (Trade Unions’) Palace in Pamėnkalnis and the Small Radziwiłł Palace in Vilniaus Street. The theatre was soon renamed the Youth Theatre thanks to the efforts of its troupe. In 1982, it moved to the reconstructed 18th-century classicist Oginskis Palace. Soon the theatre became famous all over the world – Eimuntas Nekrošius’ performances captivated the audience with their modern theatrical language. In the 1980s, Nekrošius’ plays were among the first to be performed abroad. The performances at the Youth Theatre were directed by Gytis Padegimas, Jonas Vaitkus, Gintaras Varnas, Algirdas Latėnas, Cezaris Graužinis, and Ignas Jonynas. Among the actors who trod the board here were Vladas Bagdonas, Gediminas Girdvainis, Irena Tamošiūnaitė, and Rolandas Kazlas.

Lithuanian puppet theatres date back to the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – historical sources mention puppeteers as early as the 15th century, and Lithuanian calendar festivals, hunting and farming festivals, and wedding and funeral ceremonies were not without elements of puppet and mask theatre. In 1933-1941, the Yiddish-language Jewish puppet theatre ‘Maidim’ (‘prankster’) was active in Vilnius, with a repertoire of 11 programmes, two of which were for children. The performances were based on Jewish folklore. In 1941-1944, a puppet theatre company led by Mykolė Krinickaitė was active at the Vaidilos Theatre, and in 1944-1949 the Vilnius State Puppet Theatre was founded on the basis of this company; in 1949, the company was merged with the Kaunas Young Spectator’s Theatre. The puppet theatre returned to Vilnius in 1958 when the ‘Lėlė’ theatre was founded on the initiative of director and artist Balys Lukošius (artistic director until 1969). The theatre flourished in the 1970s and ’80s when performances were created by the artist and director Vitalijus Mazūras. 

It has three halls: the Great Hall (220 seats), the Small Hall (50 seats) in the basement and the Attic Hall in the attic. In the basement of the building, there is the Living Museum of Puppets, which displays theatre puppets, masks, set design elements, and marionettes by Stasys Ušinskas, the founder of the Lithuanian professional puppet theatre.