Panevėžio muzikinis teatras

The Panevėžys Musical Theatre was founded in December 1993. The decision to establish such an institution was made by the Panevėžys City Council after assessing the cultural heritage of several generations of Panevėžys residents. The tradition of musical performances has existed in Panevėžys since the beginning of the 20th century, when, after the ban on the Lithuanian press was lifted in 1904, the cultural and national self-awareness of society began to awaken. Musician Mykolas Karka wrote in his memoirs* that in 1913, Vladas Paulauskas composed the music for the first operetta “The Chimney Sweep and the Millworker” and successfully staged it with his choir. In 1915, the audience saw M. Petrauskas’ operettas “Adomas ir Ieva”, “Consilium facultatis”, and later many other musical performances. The greatest merits for the birth and today's maturity of the Panevėžys musical theatre are attributed to this muses-inspired five: Vladis Paulauskas (1886–1960) – choirmaster, composer, author of the first musical performances in Panevėžys, pedagogue, organist, exile, Mykolas Karka (1892–1984) – a famous local musician, organizer of song festivals and conductor, tireless promoter of mid-20th century operetta in Panevėžys, Mykolas Valdas Jataučius (1933–2011) – actor, long-time founder and director of the folk operetta theatre, Nerijus Petrokas (b. 1960) – associate professor, lecturer at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and the Academy of Music of Vytautas Magnus University, director since 2005 who created 12 musicals and operettas at the Panevėžys Musical Theatre, Vidmantas Kapučinskas (born 1951) – flutist, initiator of the establishment of the Panevėžys Musical Theatre, long-time theatre director, symphony orchestra founder and conductor, and theatre artistic director.