Meno Fortas
Encyclopedia
Meno Fortas is a theatrical production facility and theater group in Vilnius
formed and directed by Lithuania
n Eimuntas Nekrošius
since 1998. It was specifically created for the production of works under this director, but is also active in the formation of young theater arts professionals and the promotion of Lithuanian theatre tradition both at home and abroad. The institution does not have its own theater and performs heavily abroad at theatre festivals. The institution is known for its streamlined stagings, heavy on metaphor, with most of its stories based on known plays, including major works by Shakespeare, Anton Chekov and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. These productions are an extension of Nekrošius’s directing career which began in the 1970s.
. (shorthis) The name translates to “fortress of art,” and applies to the Vilnius based production facility as well as the theater company. The focus of the institution is to produce works created and/or directed by Lithuanian director Eimuntas Nekrošius in Lithuania and abroad. Most of these works represent Lithuanian theatrical tradition and are promoted by the company to a wider audience. However, it also works to on collaborative projects with other institutions, training young theater artists, organize various types of cultural events financed by both public and private monies. Meno Fortas has been a member of the Union of the Theatres of Europe
since 2000.
There are different artists working constantly in the studio, chamber concerts and performances are taking place here as well. After 2007, the group added chamber theatre to its repertoire. Meno Fortas does not have its own building, but rather rents space for its offices and rehearsal rooms and performances are held in rented theatres. The company performs about fifty times a year outside of the country, mostly of works such as Song of Songs, The Seasons by Kristijonas Donelaitis
and the Shakespeare trilogy of Hamlet
, Macbeth
and Othello
. The group is part of strong theatre scene in that exists in the capital of Vilnius despite the country’s poverty. It also has a very strong tradition of the theater being dominated by its directors.
. He began is directing career as the “enfant terrible” of the Vilnus State Youth Theater, working there from 1978 to 1991 , with a short stint from 1979 to 1980 at the Kaunas National Drama Theatre. During the Soviet era, major works that he produced include such as The Square by Yeliseyeva in 1980, Love and Death in Verona by Antanėlis and Geda (1982), Pirosmani, Pirosmani, A Day Longer Than a Hundred Years by Aitmatov (1983) and Uncle Vanya
by Chekhov (1986). Of these the two most important were The Square and Uncle Vanya. In the first, life in prison was measured by counting sugar cubes, which audiences interpreted as a metaphor for Soviet life and in the latter, Astrov’s maps were tiny postage stamps, which Yelena viewed through a very large magnifying screen. This performance of Uncle Vanya broke the tradition of staging this play set by Constantin Stanislavski . His performances produced by the LIFE Festival include Mozart and Salieri, Don Juan, Plague by Pushkin (1994), Three Sisters by Chekhov (1995) and Love and Death in Verona (1996), all of which were also presented at various international theater festivals. This work popularized a new trend in Lithuanian theatre based on poetry and metaphor, with the main focus on psychology and emotion with relatively plastic acting. Scenery, while sparse, is important to give multiple layers to the use of metaphor. Nekrošius has continued with this style of production as founder and director of Meno Fortas, founded 1998. The director has received a number of awards for his work include best stage director of the year by Lithuanian Critique, the New Reality in Europe Theater by the Europe Theater Union and the Taormina Art Festival committee and the UBU Premium of Italy
.
. Its depiction of Faust is marked by the main character slowly walking downstage as other actors are flicking ropes to makes waves in yellow light. When in the middle of them, he panics, grabs his heart and falls. The ropes then cover Faust.
Meno Forte’s shows are financed as international co-productions and are presented more often abroad than in Lithuania. One of its signature pieces, Hamlet, actually precedes the group as it was first performed at the LIFE Festival in 1997, being performed there for five year in a row. However, the characteristics of this piece would define Meno Fortas, as it starred a Lithuanian pop singer in the title role and featured a huge, melting chandelier made of ice hovering over the scene. The piece has been performed by the group in nearly all of Europe’s main theatre festivals, winning many awards.
Macbeth was created after the formation of the theater group, premiering in 1999. In 2001, Othello was first premiered at the Venice Biennale
, followed by the first opera Macbeth at the Teatro Comunale in Florence
. The three Shakespeare pieces, Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello are heavily dependent on the performance of the actor in the title role. This reliance on a single main actor has forced the company to cancel shows when this actor cannot perform.
Other productions include a version of Pedro Calderón’s
La vida es dueño with the Compañía Estable of Colombia
, Cornamusa, SA of Mexico
and Teatro 4 of Argentina
.
In 2003, the company created a production called The Seasons, based on an epic poem by Lithuanian writer Kristijonas Donelaitis
. In the same year, a production of Anton Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard was produced with Russian actors.
In 2004, the company produced a play based on the Old Testament called The Song of Songs, and the Cherry Orchard received the top prize at the Golden Mask Festival
in Moscow.
In 2005, two operas were produced called the Children of Rosenthal by Leonid Desyatnikov
at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and Boris Godunov at the Teatro Comunale in Florence.
Another major work by the group is called Faust
, base on the version by Johan Wolfgang. This piece has been performed for various years in various countries including the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Mexico. Another 2006 production is Valkyrie, based on the musical piece by Richard Wagner
, and which was staged at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater in 2007.
In 2008, the company performed Anna Karenina
at the Emilia Romagna Teatro in Modena
and an opera called The Legend of Invisible city of Kitez, at the Teatro Lirico of Cagliari
and Bolshoi Theater.
The most recent production by the company include a large scale show based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot.
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
formed and directed by Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n Eimuntas Nekrošius
Eimuntas Nekrošius
Eimuntas Nekrošius is one of the most renowned theatre directors in Lithuania.- Career :...
since 1998. It was specifically created for the production of works under this director, but is also active in the formation of young theater arts professionals and the promotion of Lithuanian theatre tradition both at home and abroad. The institution does not have its own theater and performs heavily abroad at theatre festivals. The institution is known for its streamlined stagings, heavy on metaphor, with most of its stories based on known plays, including major works by Shakespeare, Anton Chekov and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. These productions are an extension of Nekrošius’s directing career which began in the 1970s.
The institution
Meno fortas was formed in 1998 as a private, non-profit institution by Eimuntas Nekrošius, Nadežda Gultiajeva and The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of LithuaniaLithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. (shorthis) The name translates to “fortress of art,” and applies to the Vilnius based production facility as well as the theater company. The focus of the institution is to produce works created and/or directed by Lithuanian director Eimuntas Nekrošius in Lithuania and abroad. Most of these works represent Lithuanian theatrical tradition and are promoted by the company to a wider audience. However, it also works to on collaborative projects with other institutions, training young theater artists, organize various types of cultural events financed by both public and private monies. Meno Fortas has been a member of the Union of the Theatres of Europe
Union of the Theatres of Europe
The Union of the Theatres of Europe is an alliance of European public theatres. It serves to promote European integration through cultural interaction....
since 2000.
There are different artists working constantly in the studio, chamber concerts and performances are taking place here as well. After 2007, the group added chamber theatre to its repertoire. Meno Fortas does not have its own building, but rather rents space for its offices and rehearsal rooms and performances are held in rented theatres. The company performs about fifty times a year outside of the country, mostly of works such as Song of Songs, The Seasons by Kristijonas Donelaitis
Kristijonas Donelaitis
Kristijonas Donelaitis was a Prussian Lithuanian Lutheran pastor and poet. He lived and worked in Lithuania Minor, a territory in the Kingdom of Prussia, that had a sizable minority of ethnic Lithuanians...
and the Shakespeare trilogy of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
and Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
. The group is part of strong theatre scene in that exists in the capital of Vilnius despite the country’s poverty. It also has a very strong tradition of the theater being dominated by its directors.
Eimuntas Nekrošius
Eimuntas Nekrošius, born 1952, is a graduate of the Lunacharsky Art Institute (today Russian Academy of Theatre Arts) in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. He began is directing career as the “enfant terrible” of the Vilnus State Youth Theater, working there from 1978 to 1991 , with a short stint from 1979 to 1980 at the Kaunas National Drama Theatre. During the Soviet era, major works that he produced include such as The Square by Yeliseyeva in 1980, Love and Death in Verona by Antanėlis and Geda (1982), Pirosmani, Pirosmani, A Day Longer Than a Hundred Years by Aitmatov (1983) and Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
by Chekhov (1986). Of these the two most important were The Square and Uncle Vanya. In the first, life in prison was measured by counting sugar cubes, which audiences interpreted as a metaphor for Soviet life and in the latter, Astrov’s maps were tiny postage stamps, which Yelena viewed through a very large magnifying screen. This performance of Uncle Vanya broke the tradition of staging this play set by Constantin Stanislavski . His performances produced by the LIFE Festival include Mozart and Salieri, Don Juan, Plague by Pushkin (1994), Three Sisters by Chekhov (1995) and Love and Death in Verona (1996), all of which were also presented at various international theater festivals. This work popularized a new trend in Lithuanian theatre based on poetry and metaphor, with the main focus on psychology and emotion with relatively plastic acting. Scenery, while sparse, is important to give multiple layers to the use of metaphor. Nekrošius has continued with this style of production as founder and director of Meno Fortas, founded 1998. The director has received a number of awards for his work include best stage director of the year by Lithuanian Critique, the New Reality in Europe Theater by the Europe Theater Union and the Taormina Art Festival committee and the UBU Premium of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Productions and performances
Menos Forte has continued with Nekrošius streamlined, metaphoric staging. One example of this style is seen in the group’s production of FaustFaust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
. Its depiction of Faust is marked by the main character slowly walking downstage as other actors are flicking ropes to makes waves in yellow light. When in the middle of them, he panics, grabs his heart and falls. The ropes then cover Faust.
Meno Forte’s shows are financed as international co-productions and are presented more often abroad than in Lithuania. One of its signature pieces, Hamlet, actually precedes the group as it was first performed at the LIFE Festival in 1997, being performed there for five year in a row. However, the characteristics of this piece would define Meno Fortas, as it starred a Lithuanian pop singer in the title role and featured a huge, melting chandelier made of ice hovering over the scene. The piece has been performed by the group in nearly all of Europe’s main theatre festivals, winning many awards.
Macbeth was created after the formation of the theater group, premiering in 1999. In 2001, Othello was first premiered at the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
, followed by the first opera Macbeth at the Teatro Comunale in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. The three Shakespeare pieces, Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello are heavily dependent on the performance of the actor in the title role. This reliance on a single main actor has forced the company to cancel shows when this actor cannot perform.
Other productions include a version of Pedro Calderón’s
Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño usually referred as Pedro Calderón de la Barca , was a dramatist, poet and writer of the Spanish Golden Age. During certain periods of his life he was also a soldier and a Roman Catholic priest...
La vida es dueño with the Compañía Estable of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Cornamusa, SA of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Teatro 4 of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.
In 2003, the company created a production called The Seasons, based on an epic poem by Lithuanian writer Kristijonas Donelaitis
Kristijonas Donelaitis
Kristijonas Donelaitis was a Prussian Lithuanian Lutheran pastor and poet. He lived and worked in Lithuania Minor, a territory in the Kingdom of Prussia, that had a sizable minority of ethnic Lithuanians...
. In the same year, a production of Anton Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard was produced with Russian actors.
In 2004, the company produced a play based on the Old Testament called The Song of Songs, and the Cherry Orchard received the top prize at the Golden Mask Festival
Golden Mask
The Golden Mask is a Russian theatre festival and the National Theatre Award established in 1994 by the Theatre Union of Russia. The award is given to productions in all genres of theatre art: drama, opera, ballet, operetta and musical, and puppet theatre. It presents the most significant...
in Moscow.
In 2005, two operas were produced called the Children of Rosenthal by Leonid Desyatnikov
Leonid Desyatnikov
Leonid Arkadievich Desyatnikov is a Russian composer.Leonid Desyatnikov was born in 1955 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. He is a graduate of the Leningrad Conservatory, where he studied composition and instrumentation. Desyatnikov has penned four operas, several cantatas and numerous vocal and instrumental...
at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and Boris Godunov at the Teatro Comunale in Florence.
Another major work by the group is called Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
, base on the version by Johan Wolfgang. This piece has been performed for various years in various countries including the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Mexico. Another 2006 production is Valkyrie, based on the musical piece by Richard Wagner
Ride of the Valkyries
The Ride of the Valkyries is the popular term for the beginning of Act III of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas by Richard Wagner that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen. The main theme of the Ride, the leitmotif labelled Walkürenritt, was first written down by the composer on 23 July 1851...
, and which was staged at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater in 2007.
In 2008, the company performed Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...
at the Emilia Romagna Teatro in Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
and an opera called The Legend of Invisible city of Kitez, at the Teatro Lirico of Cagliari
Teatro Lirico (Cagliari)
The Teatro Lirico di Cagliari is an opera house in Cagliari. It is the main theatre of the city.It was built to substitute the Teatro Civico, seriously damaged by the shelling of Cagliari operated by the Allies during World War II...
and Bolshoi Theater.
The most recent production by the company include a large scale show based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot.