FULL THE CANTATA OF KAUNAS (Philip Miller) Kaunas 2022 Rafailas Karpis, Agnė Stančikaitė, Steponas Zonys, Tshegofats Moeng

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: The cantata of Kaunas  
• Composer: Miller Philip  
• Libretto: a collaborative, multilingual collage of memory created by composer Philip Miller and visual artist Jenny Kagan, drawing from historical archives, personal testimonies, and poetry in Lithuanian, Yiddish, Polish, and Russian. It explores the city’s complex 20th-century history—including the Holocaust and Soviet deportations  
• Venue & Opera Company: Arena Žalgiris, Kaunas, Lithuania  
• Recorded: October 1, 2022
• Type: Concert Semi-staged
• Singers: Rafailas Karpis, Agnė Stančikaitė, Steponas Zonys, Tshegofats Moeng
• Conductor: Karolis Variakojis  
• Orchestra: Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, Folk ensembles “Babadag”, “Ainiai”, “Rabilėlis”, wind orchestra “Ąžuolynas”,  
• Chorus: Kaunas State Choir, VMU choir “Vive"  
• Stage Director: Chris Baldwin  
• Stage Designer: Jenny Kagan  
• Costume Designer:   

Information about the Recording

• Published by: LRT  
• Date Published: 2022  
• Format: Broadcast
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: nosubs  

• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

  Core Concept and Themes
  • Thematic Focus: Inspired by the personal testimonies, memories, and unaddressed multi-layered traumatic histories—including the Holocaust and Soviet-era deportations—of Kaunas (historically known as Kovno).
  • Artistic Vision: The creators designed an experiential sonic and visual labyrinth exploring what it means to face the “Other” and confront a contradictory, painful past to foster mutual recognition and reconciliation.
  • Aural Landscape: “In the cantata we hear many voices. We listen to songs in different languages and in different spaces. Here we encounter moments of harmony and dissonance, cacophony and silence. And moments when sound becomes one”, says composer Philip Miller
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