Sund and Sea in downtown Athens

A sunny day on a dreamy, sandy beach. A host of bodies sunbathing, singing, telling their stories, talking in unison and becoming a Chorus. At the crossroads of theatre, music, and visual arts, the visually stunning opera-performance Sun and Sea highlights the connection between realism and poetry in an emotional manner. Or as curator Lucia Pietroiusti puts it: “A chorus of songs: everyday songs, songs of worry and of boredom, songs of almost nothing. And below them: the slow creaking of an exhausted Earth, a gasp”.

The magical scenery, the architecture of the space and the music compose a carefree buzz. A light choir that is slowly becoming more and more threatening as, as the author of the work, Vaiva Grainytė says: “In this pop and synthetic ocean of songs one can listen to the pulse of the threat. “The image of a happy holiday hides the consequences of inaction – the planet’s resources are consumed in sips.”

The performance represented Lithuania in the 2019 Venice Biennale, where it won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation.

The artistic team of Sun and Sea.

Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė is a theater and film director. Her artistic practice explores the distance between objective and imaginary reality, while her works lightly stylize the anthropocentric way of thinking. Her latest film, Acid Forest, won an award at the 2018 Locarno International Film Festival.

Vaiva Grainytė is a playwright and poet. Combining poetry with irony over time, he studies individual and collective memory, daily routine and issues of social interest.

Lina Lapelytė is a versatile creator, musician and composer. Her artistic practice focuses on music performance and deals with issues of pop culture and gender stereotypes.

The performance is accompanied by a poetic text in Greek and English that can be downloaded from the Festival website.

Performance ID

Conception – Development Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė, Lina Lapelytė
Directed by Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė
Libretto Vaiva Grainytė
Translated by Rimas Užgiris
Musical composition and direction by Lina Lapelytė
Artistic curation by Lucia Pietroiusti
Tour producer Aušra Simanavičiūtė
Tour Coordination – Stage Direction Erika Urbelevič
Technical address Lique Van Gerven
Visual identity Goda Budvytytė
Conception – καιbäke catalog and vinyl design
Sound recording Romuald Chaloin Galiauskas
Live sound investment Salomėja Petronytė
Singers: Aliona Alymova, Marco Cisco, Auksė Dovydėnaitė, Saulė Dovydėnaitė, Claudia Graziadei, Artūras Miknaitis, Yates Norton, Vytautas Pastarnokas, Eglė Paškevičienė, Salomėja Petronytė, Kalliopi Petrou, Ieva Skorubskaitė, Svetlana Bagdonaitė, Nabila Dandara Vieira Santos.

Duration 1 hour
Production of Neon Realism
Coproduction Nidos Meno Kolonija / Vilniaus dailės akademija, Akademie Schloss Solitude Goethe-Institut, Münchner Kammerspiele, Nacionalinė dailės gallery – Vilnius, Staatsschauspiel Dresden, The Momentary, Arkansas
Sponsored by JCDecaux
Assignment Rasa Antanavičiūtė
Founding sponsors Lithuanian Cultural Council, Ministry of Culture of Lithuania, Laurenz Foundation in Basel, Vilnius Municipality