Steponas Zonys

Lamb of God (Dievo Avinėlis) is an opera-ballet set in rural Lithuania in the aftermath of war. It depicts the atmosphere of unease, fear and uncertainty about the future as a village cobbler tries to stick to the straight and narrow path of honesty. Composed by Feliksas Bajoras in 1982, Lamb of God is based on an eponymous novel by Rimantas Šavelis. 11 March 1990, the Republic of Lithuania was re-established as an independent state, the first Soviet Republic to leave Moscow and leading other states to do so. With a subject that treats the resistance of people in post-war Lithuania, the piece had to wait nearly four decades for its premiere.

A general and his stepdaughter are both heavily in debt. When the family's tutor, in love with the girl, gets lucky at the gambling table, he tries to rescue her from her desperate situation, but she outright rejects him. Prokofiev's first full-length opera The Gambler, based on Dostoyevsky's partly autobiographical novella ironically written to settle gambling debts, is rarely performed today. This 2020 production brings together director Vasily Barkhatov and conductor Modestas Pitrenas and stars the winner of the 2019 International Opera Award, Asmik Grigorian, in the role of Polina.