To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the annexation of Klaipėda to Lithuania in 2023, the Klaipėda State Music Theatre commissioned four Klaipėda-based composers to create an opera that would bring to life the century-old events, the aspirations of the Prussian Lithuanians who were native to the Klaipėda Region and the Lithuanians who came to help them achieve this historical reunion, as well as the unique spirit of place and time. According to the philosopher and writer Arvydas Juozaitis, who penned the libretto for this opera, the stories developed in all three acts of the opera revolve around three fundamental concepts that shaped the history of the Klaipėda Region – outstanding personalities, religion and language. 

In the first act, we meet the first seven of the opera’s large cast of characters. Among them are such well-known historical personalities of Lithuania Minor as publisher, activist of the Lithuanian national movement and Chairman of the Committee for the Salvation of Lithuania Minor, Martynas Jankus and his daughter Elzė, evangelical priest Vilius Gaigalaitis, former book bearer and Lithuanian counterintellingence agent Jonas Polovinskas-Budrys, writer Ėvė Simonait (Ieva Simonaitytė) and her sister Ėtmė. At the end of the action, the goal of the reunification of Lithuania Minor with Lithuania proper is established. All this takes place on Christmas Eve, in the village of Lithuania Minor. “Everybody is looking forward to the holiday, so the music is mostly light, set in major key, hopeful,” said Loreta Narvilaitė, the composer of the first act. 

The second act begins on 6 January 1923, during the feast of Epiphany. On that day, Ernestas Galvanauskas, Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius, writer and civic activist, chairman of the Riflemen's Union, philosopher Vilhelmas Storosta (Vydūnas), and the nominal political leader of the Klaipėda uprising, Erdmonas Simonaitis, meet to discuss a plan for the annexation of Klaipėda. The next scene shows Gabriel Jean Petisné, Prefect of Memel, and his wife Mme Petisné. The woman does not hold back her anger at the circumstances that have pushed her into the ‘backwater of Europe’ and blames her husband for everything, but Petisné remains faithful to the idea of a European mission in post-World War I Memel dispute. Against the backdrop of this ‘domestic drama,’ a squad of French soldiers is ready for battle... The next episode takes place in a church filled with civilian Lithuanian soldiers in disguise, also preparing for battle. When the French enter the church, the atmosphere heats up and the drama of the situation reaches its climax at the very end of the act. “This theme is very interesting to me because of its historical uniqueness and, of course, because I have been a long-time resident of Klaipėda, I am familiar with the ethnic and church music of this region, and most importantly, this music has become close to my heart in some way,” said composer Vladimiras Konstantinovas about the musical inspirations for the second act. 

The music for the third act of the opera is composed by two composers and sound artists Kristijonas Lučinskas (Driezhas) and Donatas Bielkauskas (Donis), both of whom have been living in Klaipėda for several decades. Their scenes combine live orchestral sound with a pre-recorded electronic music soundtrack. According to Lučinskas, it will also feature the city itself: “it's all sorts of local sounds around us and even vibrations that we don't normally hear, but we can pick up with special microphones.” Using new sound production and processing technologies, the two artists are using diverse acoustic material to create the multi-layered musical fabric of the opera's third act. Bielkauskas, who is interested in contemporary opera trends, said that he avoided the pathos often associated with the jubilee celebrations and relied on a more subjective assessment of historical events: “I would like this opera of stories to encourage the audience to look at the uniqueness of our region not only when commemorating a significant event for Lithuania, but also to understand the multi-layered experience of the everyday life of the people who lived here and their hopes.”