''Radvila Perkūnas'' (Radziwiłł the Piorun, Radziwiłł the Thunderbolt) is a Lithuanian-language opera in four acts by Jurgis Karnavičius to the libretto of a musical play written for the opera by

Balys Sruoga Balys Sruoga (2 February 1896 – 16 October 1947) was a Lithuanian poet, playwright, critic, and literary theorist. He contributed to cultural journals from his early youth. His works were published by the liberal wing of the Lithuanian cultura ...

which premiered at the Kaunas State Theater on February 15, 1937, on the eve of

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

. Although Sruoga was not satisfied either with Karnavičius' music, nor with the production by the director P. Olekas, nevertheless the opera met with great success with the public. In 1948 when the theatre archive was moved to the new capital Vilnius, the opera score was considered lost but the opera was revived and staged at the Kaunas State Musical Theater during the 2018 International Mykolas Oginskis Festival, conducted by Jonas Janulevičius, performed by orchestra, choir, ballet artists and soloists of the

Kaunas State Musical Theatre The Kaunas State Musical Theatre, formerly Kaunas City Theatre, is a theatre in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is home to a musical theatre company of the same name, established on 27 November 1940 in the former State Theatre hall on the Laisvės Alėja. ...

Plot

The opera is set at the time of Krzysztof "Piorun" Radziwiłł when the rivalry between the most powerful families of Lithuania - the Radvilas and the

Chodkiewicz The House of Chodkiewicz (; ) was one of the most influential Szlachta, noble families of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lithuanian-Ruthenians, Ruthenian descent within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th and 17th century.Chester S. L. D ...

s - almost descended into civil war.

Roles

''Note'': "Katkus" below refers to the surname Chodkiewicz, coming from Chodko, i.e.,

Chodko Jurewicz Chodko Jurewicz (, ; fl. c.1400–1447) was a Ruthenian noble from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and is considered to be the founder of the Chodkiewicz family. Chodko was a historical person, but his obscure origin and biography have long been su ...

, founder of the Chodkiewicz family *KRISTUPAS RADVILA PERKUNAS *JONUŠAS, son of Kristupas Radvila *SOFIJA OLELKAITĖ, Duchess of Sluck * JERONIMAS KATKUS, Vilnius castellan *SOFIJA KATKUVIENĖ, Katkus's wife *

Merkelis Giedraitis Merkelis Giedraitis (; – 6 April 1609) was Bishop of Samogitia from 1576 to 1609. Educated at Protestant universities in the Duchy of Prussia and Germany, he actively combated the Reformation implementing resolutions of the Council of Trent in ...

, Bishop of

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

*RUTKA, Jesuit monk *BUOŽIUS, Vilnius man *BILDŽIUS, Radvila nobleman, *MIKNILA, Radvila noble *BRUŽYS, Katkus nobleman *AGNĖ, Sofia's friend *MAGDĖ, member of Katkus court *SKARIJA, Vilnius Jew, merchant *BEGGAR *I VILNIUS WOMAN *II VILNIUS WOMAN *KNIGHTS

References

{{opera-stub Operas 1937 operas Lithuanian-language operas