Rūta Society () was a

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n cultural society in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

(Vilna, Wilno), then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, active from 1909 to the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914. It organized various events, including lectures, literary evenings, and musical performances, but it is most noted for its contribution to the development of the Lithuanian theater. In total, Rūta staged about 50 plays.

History

The official permission to establish Rūta was received on 25 September 1908 and the founding meeting took place on 11 January 1909. At that time the society registered 66 members and elected a 12-member board, which included (chairman),

Andrius Domaševičius Andrius Domaševičius (30 November 1865 – 19 March 1935) was a Lithuanian politician and gynecologist. He was one of the founders and an active member of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, Social Democrat movement in Lithuania. Early ...

(vice-chairman),

Mykolas Sleževičius Mykolas Sleževičius (21 February 1882 – 11 November 1939) was a Lithuanian lawyer, political and cultural figure, and journalist. One of the most influential figures in inter-war Lithuania, he served as the prime minister of Lithuania on thr ...

(secretary),

Donatas Malinauskas Donatas Malinauskas (; 1877 in Krāslava, Latvia – November 30, 1942 in Altai Krai, Russia) was a Lithuanian politician and diplomat, and one of twenty signatories to the Act of Independence of Lithuania. Malinauskas was born to a Lithuanian f ...

(treasurer),

Jonas Basanavičius Jonas Basanavičius (, ; 23 November 1851 – 16 February 1927) was an activist and proponent of the Lithuanian National Revival. He participated in every major event leading to the independent Lithuanian state and is often given the informal hon ...

, and . The membership dues were set at a minimum of four

rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

per year. Sleževičius was the main driving force behind the society – he established a cultural society of the same name as a law student at the

Odessa University The Odesa I.I.Mechnykov National University (), often referred to as Odesa National University ( ONU, ), located in Odesa, Ukraine, is one of that country's major state-sponsored universities, named after the scientist Élie Metchnikoff (1845- ...

. During the first year, the number of members grew to 192 and the society held 33 evenings (mostly dance) and four lectures. In 1910, the society organized 89 events. The society had a group for singers, dancers, music players, and theater performers. Many of the performers were previously active with the

Lithuanian Mutual Aid Society of Vilnius The Lithuanian Mutual Aid Society of Vilnius () was a mutual aid society, mutual aid and cultural society active in Vilnius, then part of the Russian Empire, from 1904 to 1915. It originated from the illegal social club known as the Twelve Apostles ...

. Most performances were open to the public.

Choir

The society had a choir (about 50 members) which performed works by Lithuanian composers (

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (; – ) was a Lithuanian composer, painter, choirmaster, cultural figure, and writer in Polish. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and Art Nouveau, and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. ...

Juozas Naujalis Juozas Naujalis (9 April 1869 in Raudondvaris – 9 September 1934 in Kaunas) was a Lithuanian composer, organist and choir conductor. He is acclaimed as Lithuanian music patriarch. Biography Naujalis studied Warsaw Institute of Music and in Re ...

Mikas Petrauskas Mikas Petrauskas (1873–1937) was a Lithuanian composer and choirmaster best known as the author of the first Lithuanian Birutė (opera), opera ''Birutė'' (1906). He was an elder brother of the singer Kipras Petrauskas. Petrauskas learned to p ...

Česlovas Sasnauskas Česlovas Sasnauskas (19 July 1867, in Kapčiamiestis – 18 January 1916, in Saint Petersburg) was a Lithuanian composer. Sasnauskas worked as an organist in Vilkaviškis and also played in Saint Petersburg upon relocating there in 1891. Bes ...

Stasys Šimkus Stasys Šimkus (23 January 1887, Motiškiai, now in Jurbarkas district municipality, Russian Empire – 15 October 1943, Kaunas, Reichskommissariat Ostland) was a Lithuanian composer. Šimkus studied in Vilnius and Warsaw and later became the ...

) as well as foreign composers (

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

). In 1910, a Latvian subsidiary of the

Gramophone Company The Gramophone Company Limited was a British phonograph manufacturer and record label, founded in April 1898 by Emil Berliner. It was one of the earliest record labels. The company purchased the His Master's Voice painting and trademark righ ...

recorded ''

Tautiška giesmė "" (; 'National Song') or "" ('Anthem of Lithuania'), also known by its incipit "" ('Lithuania, Our Homeland'), is the national anthem of Lithuania. The music and lyrics were written in 1898 by Vincas Kudirka, when Lithuania was still part of th ...

'' and eight other patriotic songs. The singers were little trained – their voices were loud but enthusiastic. Another recording of 20 songs by Lithuanian composers was made in 1914. Together with a

symphonic orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

, the choir performed

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

"De profundis" by Čiurlionis in 1913.

Theater

The theater group with

was particularly active. It also included

Gabrielius Landsbergis-Žemkalnis Gabrielius Landsbergis-Žemkalnis (1852–1916) was a Lithuanian playwright and activists of the early Lithuanian amateur theater. Born to an old noble family, Landsbergis attended Šiauliai Gymnasium where his friend Petras Vileišis encourage ...

Antanas Žmuidzinavičius Antanas Žmuidzinavičius (, 31 October 1876 – 9 August 1966) was a Lithuanian painter and art collector. Educated at the Veiveriai Teachers' Seminary, Žmuidzinavičius worked as a teacher while pursuing art education in the evenings in Warsa ...

, and others. The backdrop was painted by

in June 1909. It has survived and is preserved at the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum and commemorated by a fresco inside the former theater of Rūta. The group, which was active even before Rūta was officially organized, staged several plays, most notably historical dramas ''Mindaugis, Lietuvos karalius'' by

Juliusz Słowacki Juliusz Słowacki (; ; ; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the " Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of modern Polish drama. Hi ...

(''

Mindaugas Mindaugas (, , , , ; c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known grand duke of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a ...

King of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crowned king in 1 ...

''; premiered on 27 April 1908) and ''Živilė, duktė Karijoto'' by Vincas Nagornoskis (''Živilė, Daughter of

Karijotas Karijotas or Koriat (baptized ''Michal''; died between 1358 and 1363) was the Duke of Navahrudak () and Vaŭkavysk (), one of the sons of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. According to Polish historian Jan Tęgowski, he was born probably bet ...

''; premiered on 4 January 1909). The plays had to be approved by Russian censors who diligently removed any anti-Russian sentiments. As a result, many plays were significantly cut. For example, ''Živilė, duktė Karijoto'' lost the entire first section and many scenes. The theater shift from simple comedies to historical dramas revealed limitations of the amateur theater and the need of a professional Lithuanian theater. To that end, in September 1910, the theater group separated from Rūta and joined the theater group of the

to form an independent Lithuanian Artists' Union of Vilnius (''Vilniaus lietuvių artistų sąjunga'') which two years later established the first

theater company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicat ...

. The union and the company closely cooperated with Rūta and staged many new plays. Lithuanian activists hoped that it would become the basis for the professional Lithuanian theater, but it faced financial difficulties and internal disagreements, paid no heed to theater education and hoped that practice would be enough. The last play, modernist ''The Snow'' by

Stanisław Przybyszewski Stanisław Przybyszewski (; 7 May 1868 – 23 November 1927) was a Polish novelist, dramatist, and poet of the decadent naturalistic school. His drama is associated with the Symbolist movement. He wrote both in Polish and in German. Life Stani ...

, was performed on 10 May 1914. Further activities were disrupted by World War I.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruta Society 1909 establishments in Lithuania Arts organizations established in 1909 1914 disestablishments in the Russian Empire Organizations disestablished in 1914 History of Vilnius Clubs and societies in Lithuania Theatre in Lithuania