Antonio Vivaldi's oratorio "The Triumph of Judith" is an allegorical account of the 1716 Venetian victory over the Turks, who besieged the island of Corfu. It is the story of the victory over the conquerors from the east, based on the biblical story of Judith, a Jewish widow who saved the Jewish people from the invading Assyrian army. The young widow Judith and her maid come to the enemy camp to see the commander of the army himself, Holofernes, pretending to seduce him. Judith beheads the sleeping Holofernes, puts him in a sack, and both she and her maid calmly leave the enemy camp. The warlord is dead and the army retreats. The Jewish people are saved.

Today, the brutal war continues. The creators of the play believe that Judith must triumph, and with her, those who fight against insidious invaders, brutal regimes and ruthless dictators. Utopia Theatre together with the National Kaunas Drama Theatre, with the help of a large creative force - opera soloists, the chamber ensemble Musica Humana of the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Čiurlionis Quartet and the Vilnius Choir Singing School Choir "Liepaitės", the flat puppets of the painter J. Skuratova and the extraordinary Baroque puppetry of A.

The oratorio is characterised by an unusual cast of performers: it features five soloists and a girls' choir, which gives the musical part an extraordinary strength and vital energy. The main role of Judith will be performed by Hungarian soloist Dalma Krajnyák (Hungary) and Lithuanian soloists Renata Dubinskaitė, Lina Dambrauskaitė, Jomantė Paukštė, Indrė Anankaitė.

2 March 2024 at the Vilnius Old Theatre.

Two-part opera in Latin with surtitles in Lithuanian

Libretto by Giacomo Cassetti

Project partly financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture

Duration - 2 hrs. 30 min. (with intermission).