Eimuntas Nekrošius (November 21, 1952 – November 20, 2018) was a Lithuanian

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Biography

Early life

Nekrošius was born in Pažobris village,

Raseiniai district municipality Raseiniai District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of thr ...

, Lithuania on November 21, 1952.

Career

In 1978, Nekrošius graduated from Lunacharsky Institute of Theatre Arts in Moscow. After returning to Lithuania Nekrošius has been working in the

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

State Youth Theatre from 1978 until 1979. In 1979, he moved to the Kaunas State Drama Theatre, where he stayed for a year until 1980. 1980, he returned to Vilnius State Youth Theatre, where he staged series of notable plays. In 1998 he founded a theatre ''Meno fortas'' (''Fortress of Art''). From 2012 to 2013, E.Nekrošius worked as an art director in

Teatro Olimpico The Teatro Olimpico ("Olympic Theatre") is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy, constructed in 1580–1585. The theatre was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio and was not completed until after his death. The ...

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

. Just before his sudden death he was working on production of ''Edipo a Colono'' by Ruggero Cappuccio which was planned to be shown in

Amphitheatre of Pompeii The Amphitheatre of Pompeii is one of the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatres. It is located in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, and was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, that also buried the city of Pompeii and the neighbouring to ...

. Between 1988 and 1992 he worked and staged performances in many countries - Austria, Yugoslavia, Italy, Finland, Israel, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Among the features characteristic to his plays are the soothing background music of a repetitive pattern throughout the performance, extensive use of dance and movement and unique

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

s on stage, as well as an employment of natural substances as water, fire, wind, ice and stone. The length of a single performance often exceeds conventional viewing time since Nekrošius favours complex and challenging pieces to stage, such as the '' Song of Songs'' or '' The Seasons'' by Kristijonas Donelaitis. According to Nekrošius, a production, must not only speak, but it must do so on several levels, using multiple systems of meaning, in concert, to achieve a cumulative, unified effect. In 1994 he was awarded the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities, in

Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...

, Italy, «for the dramaturgic work of elaboration of plays staged with the actors of the Theatre of Vilnius».

Death

On November 20, 2018, Nekrošius died in

, Lithuania, at the age of 65.

Notable plays

* ''The Square'' (1980) * ''Pirosmani, Pirosmani...'' (1981) *

Rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

''Love and Death in Verona'' by Sigitas Geda and Kęstutis Antanėlis’ (1982, renewed in 1996) * '' The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years'' by

Chinghiz Aitmatov Chinghiz Torekulovich Aitmatov (as transliterated from Russian; ky, Чыңгыз Төрөкулович Айтматов, translit=Chynggyz Törökulovich Aytmatov; 12 December 1928 – 10 June 2008) was a Kyrgyz author who wrote mainly in Russia ...

(1983) * ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the dir ...

'' by Anton Chekhov (1986) * '' The Nose'' by Nikolai Gogol(1991) * '' Little Tragedies'' by Aleksandr Pushkin * ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

(1997) * '' Macbeth'' (2002) * '' The Children of Rosenthal'' (2005) *

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treati ...

's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

'' (2006) * ''

The Idiot ''The Idiot'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Идиот, Idiót) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–69. The title is an ...

'' by Fyodor Dostoevsky (2009) * ''Caligula'' by

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

(2011) * ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature ...

'' by

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

(2012) * ''Paradise'' by Dante Alighieri (2013) * ''The Book of Job'' based on The Old Testament (2014) * ''Dziady'' by

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

(2016)

Awards and nominations

Plays by Nekrošius were awarded diplomas of various theatre festivals in Lithuania, Latvia,

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, Russia and other countries. Nekrošius is a laureate of numerous state awards. * 1994, Nekrošius received a special prize of the Lithuanian Theatre Union as the Best Director of the Year, and the Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature, the Arts and Science for Aleksandr Pushkin's '' Little Tragedies'' (''Mozart and Salieri.

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, ''El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

. Plague'') as the best theatre performance in the Baltic States. * 1994, Nekrošius received the II Europe Prize Theatrical Realities. * 1997, Nekrošius produced one of his most successful directions — Hamlet by William Shakespeare, starring Lithuanian music

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

Andrius Mamontovas. The play took part in nearly all main European theatre festivals and received numerous awards including Lithuanian National Prize. * 1997, Nekrošius received prestigious polish prize for directors —

Konrad Swinarski Konrad Ksawery Swinarski ( 4 July 1929, Warszawa - 19 August 1975 near Damascus) – Polish theatrical, television, film and opera director and stage designer. He has created his own style, thanks to which he is considered one of the most origi ...

Award of Teatr, polish theatre monthly journal — for ''Hamlet''. * November 2002, Nekrošius produced Giuseppe Verdi's opera '' Macbeth'' at

Teatro Comunale Florence The is an opera house in Florence, Italy. It was originally built as the open-air amphitheatre, the Politeama Fiorentino Vittorio Emanuele, which was inaugurated on 17 May 1862 with a production of Donizetti's ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' and which ...

. * In 2001, Nekrošius received the prestigious international Konstantin Stanislavski's award in Moscow. *In 2005, he received the Herder Prize. In January 2008, Italian theater critics recognized Nekrošius' staged play ''

'' as the best foreign production in Italy and awarded UBU Prize, a third one in Nekrošius carrier.LR
Italijoje įvertintas režisierius Nekrošius
. National radio and television of Lithuania, Retrieved on 2008-01-18 *2008, Nekrosius received the third Honorary Award of the 16th International Istanbul Theater Festival

Bibliography

* (In Lithuanian) Marcinkevičiūtė, R. (2002). Eimuntas Nekrošius. Vilnius: Scena.

References

External links

Recently directed plays and awards

* ttp://www.menuspaustuve.lt/lt/mediateka/?filter%5Btag%5D%5B%5D=12 List of recorded performances
Theatre ''Meno Fortas''

Recorded performance ''Pirosmani, Pirosmani...''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nekrosius, Eimuntas 1952 births 2018 deaths Soviet theatre directors Lithuanian theatre directors Recipients of the Lithuanian National Prize Herder Prize recipients State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Russian Academy of Theatre Arts alumni Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 4th class Commander's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas People from Raseiniai District Municipality People from Raseiniai