Rimas Tuminas (20 January 1952 – 6 March 2024) was a Lithuanian theatre director. He was awarded the State Prize of Russia in 1999. From 2007 he was the

Artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of the Moscow Vakhtangov theatre. With Tuminas, the

Vakhtangov Theatre The Vakhtangov State Academic Theatre () is a drama theatre in Moscow. It was founded in 1913 as the Student Drama Studio, headed by Yevgeny Vakhtangov. The official opening date of the 3rd Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT) is considered to ...

occupied a leading position among the Russian theatres. In 2011, the theatre was recognized as the most visited theatre in Moscow.

Biography

From 1970 to 1974, Tuminas studied at the Conservatory of Lithuania. In 1978 he finished

GITIS The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) () is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, the school was founded on 22 September 1878 as the Shostakovsky Music School. It became the School of Mu ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

(Joseph Tumanov's directing course). From 1979 he was the director of Lithuanian national drama theatre. In 1990 he founded the Little Theatre of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. From 2012 he organised the Vasara Annual Festival in

Druskininkai Druskininkai (; also see other names) is a spa city on the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The city of Druskininkai is known for being a spa resort since the 19th century. Name The exact origi ...

. Among his well-known productions are ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...

'', ''

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 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...

'', and ''

Masquerade Masquerade or Masquerades may refer to: Books * ''Masquerade'' (book), a 1979 children's book by Kit Williams that sparked a worldwide treasure hunt * ''Masquerades'' (novel), a 1995 Forgotten Realms novel by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb * ''Masq ...

''. From 2014, he suffered from lung cancer. Tuminas died in

Gallipoli, Apulia Gallipoli (; ; ) is a Southern Italy, southern Italy, Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce, in Apulia. In 2014, it had a population of 31,862 and is one of the towns where the Greek dialect Griko is spoken. Geography The town ...

on 6 March 2024, at the age of 72.

Awards

State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...

Указ Президента РФ от 9 июня 2000 № 1085 * Russian Festival of Performing Arts

Golden Mask Award The Golden Mask (, ''Zolotaya maska'') is a Russian theatre festival and the main national theatre award, established in 1994 by the Theatre Union of Russia. The award is given to productions in all genres of theatre art: drama, opera, ballet, ope ...

for Directing ''

'' (2014) * International Stanislavsky Theatre Award * Crystal Turandot Award * Golden Nail Award *

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at ...

(Russia) * Tsarskoselskaya Art Award *

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland () is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident abroad. As such, it is sometimes referred to as ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuminas, Rimas 1952 births 2024 deaths Lithuanian theatre directors Soviet theatre directors People from Kelmė Russian Academy of Theatre Arts alumni Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Knights of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Recipients of the Golden Mask Deaths from lung cancer in Italy Deaths from cancer in Apulia