20th century the neoclassical ballet "Egle the Queen of Grass-snakes" by Lithuanian music classic Eduard Balsis is the most popular national work of this genre. When creating it, the composer relied on the poem of the same name by Salomeja Nėries, further highlighting the mythological beginnings of the tale and intensively developing the drama of Eglė and Žilvinas' human feelings. The ballet score is characterized by colorful instrumentation, bright mood contrasts, and recognizable folk music motifs.
The creative team of the young generation - choreographer Martynas Rimeikis, conductor Modestas Barkauskas, scenographer Marijus Jacovskis and costume designer Elvita Brazdylytė tried to listen to the music of the composer E. Balsis and not impose present-day social contexts on the love story of Eglė and Žilvinas. At the same time, an attempt was made to avoid the abundance of visual details typical of fairy tale stagings, so the dance itself speaks in the new production, not decorations or props. M. Jacovskis' scenography solution is extremely laconic: the fishing village is symbolized by the ropes that are used to pull the boats to the shore, and the sea world by the chains that usually hold the anchors of the ships. The costumes created by E. Brazdylytė are dominated by light, as if fluttering in the wind, fabrics of women's dresses, the colors of which change along with the stages of the story being told: at the beginning of the play, Eglė's light and short clothes later become darker and longer. Representatives of the underwater world of snakes wear sleek black clothing.
"Eglė žalčių karalienė" remains the most frequently revived Lithuanian national ballet on the professional stage: M. Rimeikis' performance is already the fifth interpretation of this work by E. Balsis. Its first production was in 1960. In Vilnius, the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater was created by ballet master Vytautas Grivickas, the second in 1976. - Elegijs Bukaitis, the third of 1995. - Egidijus Domeika, the fourth of 2015. - British George Williamson.
The wonderful music of E. Balsis, which has withstood the tests of time, has come to life in the expressive and original language of modern dance. The premiere of "Egle the Queen of Grass-snakes", which took place in Palanga's concert hall, was deservedly titled 2019. the culmination of the "Musical August on the Seaside" festival and an event of the entire Lithuanian culture. in 2021 in April, the video of this dance performance was broadcast for the first time by the French cultural channel "Mezzo".
"Egle the Queen of Grass-snakes" produced by KVMT became the second work of M. Rimeikis (after "Proceso" created by LNOBT in 2017) broadcast on this channel