“Richard’s Women”

On October 24 at Paliesius Manor, three artists will present the concert program “Richard’s Women“.

They will perform the music of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss—innovators of German music from the Romantic and early modernist eras. These works, renowned yet performed for the very first time in Lithuania, will reveal a portrait of a woman through the distinct stylistic methods of their time. The evening will feature excerpts from operas, masterpieces of chamber music, and opuses for violin and piano, all brimming with virtuosity, maturity, and feminine sensitivity.

Soprano Kristina Zmailaitė earned her Master of Arts degree from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and has been an active freelance artist since 2000, performing at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Kaunas State Musical Theatre, the Klaipėda State Music Theatre, and the Panevėžys Musical Theatre. She frequently participates in international music festivals in Lithuania, including the International Mykolas Oginskis Festival and the Pažaislis International Music Festival, and since 2015, she has contributed to the organization of the “Šv. Jurgio meno sezonas” festival in Marijampolė.

Over 23 years in the fields of theater and music, she has participated in more than 20 opera and operetta productions, performed numerous oratorios, and prepared several successful concert programs. She has worked with J. Domarkas, G. Rinkevičius, J. Aleksa, M. Staškus, S. Domarkas, J. Geniušas, M. Barkauskas, and other Lithuanian conductors, as well as with A. Anissimov, A. D’Anto, and S. Goeckeritz. Her repertoire ranges from Baroque to modern music, and she has presented several world premieres of works by Lithuanian composers.

Kristina Zmailaitė actively participates in masterclasses (with Katia Ricciarelli, Waldemar Wild, Paolo di Napoli, Michael Paul, and Elena Kerl) and has worked as an educator for both children and adults for the past seven years. Since 2019, she has been a vocal teacher (chair of the methodological group) at the Vilnius Karoliniškės Music School.

In recent years, pianist Milda Umbrusevičiūtė has performed her solo programs at St. James’s Church, the Kristupas Festival, the Rudolf Steiner Haus hall, and the festivals “Pasaulio balsai”, “Lietuvos pianisčių pavasaris”, and “Gelgaudiškio muzikiniai penktadieniai”. The pianist has held recitals at the Kaunas State Philharmonic, the Klaipėda Concert Hall, the “Organum” concert hall, the “Muzikos magijos klubas” in Vilnius, and other venues. Her solo concerts have been recorded and broadcast by “LRT Klasika” radio. She has performed in the Czech Republic, Finland, Great Britain, Italy, and Germany.

She also performs actively as a member of chamber ensembles. Her recent stage partners include opera soloists Asta Krikščiūnaitė and Dovilė Kazonaitė, cellists Elena Daunytė and Glebas Pyšniakas, birbynė player Vytautas Kiminius, and violinist Myroslava Kotorovych. Together, they have performed various thematic programs in concert halls across Lithuania. The pianist expands her repertoire not only by playing in ensembles with various instruments but also by participating as a concertmaster and orchestral performer in international projects, including the “Citta della Pieve” opera theater, the “PromFest” festival, “Trumpets Talents Talinn”, and “Musica in Vivo”. She has been awarded a certificate of appreciation by the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, for her achievements in international competitions.

Violinist Barbora Domarkaitė graduated from the violin class of Prof. Ingrida Armonaitė at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. She currently serves as the second concertmaster of the first violins for the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra.

The violinist has performed as a soloist with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and the Kaunas City Chamber Orchestra, and she actively plays in chamber ensembles of various compositions. Over her 25 years of musical activity, she has toured with concerts across various countries in Europe, South America, and Japan.