First Authors of Lithuanian Scenography
Theatre set and costume design in the Lithuanian State Theater in the 1920s
In 1920–1939, after becoming the temporary capital city of Lithuania, Kaunas also turned into the most important centre of artistic culture, determining the evolution of theatre in the entire country.
Over two decades, the State Theatre, Kaunas, Lithuania produced almost 200 various stage works – dramas, operas and ballets. It established the tradition of Lithuanian scenography, which included a harmonious whole of foreign ideas and the gradually growing identity of Lithuanian forms, lines and colours, determined by the modern artistic movements of the first half of the 20 century and the creative understanding of Lithuania’s traditional folk art.
Vladas Didžiokas
The first drama, opera and ballet productions were shown with sets and costumes that were selected for each theatrical piece. However, various artists and architects soon „came to the rescue“ and began creating original pieces for theatre works. One of the first creators of sets was Vladas Didžiokas (1889–1942), who studied in Saint Petersburg and made his debut as set designer in 1918 in Vitebsk.
Having returned to Lithuania, he worked for “Tautos” and “Vilkolakis” theatres in Kaunas, later – for the State Theatre, Kaunas, Lithuania. His sets for opera productions display characteristic picturesque compositions. Didžiokas’ works for classical productions made use of realistic plasticity (“Faust”); in contemporary pieces (“R.U.R”) he was striving for rather generalized forms, decorative range of colours.
Barbora Didžiokienė
His wife Barbora Didžiokienė (1896–1976) also created some sets and costumes. She was an artist from Russia, who studied with Nicholas Roerich, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky and her future husband. Her set designs and costumes were influenced by the style of Art Deco.
Piotr Tchaikovsky "NUTCRACKER". A scenery sketch. Act III (1928) by Barbora DidžiokienėLithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum
Petras Kalpokas
Petras Kalpokas (1880–1945), one of the most famous artists of interwar Kaunas, also worked in the sphere of theatre. He studied in Riga, Saint Petersburg, Munich, and after his return to Lithuania participated in the activities of “Vilkolakis” club, also creating some realistic set designs for a few operas.
Vladimiras Dubeneckis
Quite a few set designs were also created by architect Vladimiras Dubeneckis (1888–1932), graduate of the Russian Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg. For works of the “Vilkolakis” club he produced laconic, minimalist designs and engaged the Art World stylistics for the productions of the State Theatre, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Jacques Offenbach "THE TALES OF HOFFMANN". A scenery sketch. Act I (1925) by Olga DubeneckienėLithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum
Jacques Offenbach "THE TALES OF HOFFMANN", A scenery sketch. Act I, Olga Dubeneckienė, 1925
Olga Dubeneckienė - Kalpokienė
Costumes for opera productions, projects of set and costume designs were presented by Olga Dubeneckienė-Kalpokienė (1891–1967), who attended private studies of fine art in Saint Petersburg. Her works that she established in Kaunas are characteristic of the the retrospective, decorative style of the Art World.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov "SCHEHERAZADE". A scenery sketch (1937) by Olga Dubeneckienė-KalpokienėLithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum
Molière "THE IMAGINARY INVALID". A scenery sketch (1928) by Olga Dubeneckienė-KalpokienėLithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum
Joseph Benari-Levinson
The lesser-known personality in the context of Lithuanian scenography is Joseph Benari-Levinson (1892–1967), who studied architecture at the Russian Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, participated in the activities of the “Vilkolakis” club and in 1926 designed sets and costumes for Ambroise Thomas’ opera “Mignon”. Two years later he left Lithuania for Berlin and began working at the theatre of director and epic theatre representative Erwin Piscator, afterwards becoming a decorator with the Parisian branch of “Metro Goldwyn Mayer”.
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