World-class artists return to the anniversary Midsummer Vilnius festival.

On the evening of July 18th, in the Grand Courtyard of the Palace of the Grand Dukes, listeners will have a rare opportunity to hear opera diva Violeta Urmana in a love duet with Italian tenor Alfredo Nigro. The duo, performing a tender and passionate program, will be accompanied by the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (LCO) led by conductor Modestas Pitrėnas.

For nearly three decades, Violeta Urmana has graced the world’s most-known theaters. She is a celebrated concert and recital singer, performing works by composers such as G. Mahler, R. Strauss, A. Schoenberg, H. Berlioz, R. Wagner, and G. Verdi in prestigious concert halls across Europe, the United States, Israel, and Japan. She has collaborated with some of the most talented conductors and soloists of our time.

Violeta Urmana has received numerous accolades, including the Royal Philharmonic Award for singers in London and the Austrian honorary title “Kammersängerin” in Vienna. In 2014, the President of Italy awarded her the Order of the Star of Italy. In her homeland, Lithuania, she has been honored with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas and, in 2020, the Grand Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania.

Violeta Urmana is a distinguished guest at the world’s leading opera houses, including New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Madrid’s Teatro Real, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, the National Opera of Paris, Berlin’s Deutsche Oper, Vienna State Opera, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, and London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She has also performed at renowned festivals such as Bayreuth, Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, Edinburgh, and the BBC Proms.

Due to her demanding concert schedule, Violeta Urmana rarely performs in Lithuania. In 2023, she opened the Midsummer Vilnius festival with an exclusive GALA performance, which sold out entirely. The event was highly anticipated by opera enthusiasts and music lovers eager to see this world-class star.

Italian tenor Alfredo Nigro has performed at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, Madrid’s Teatro Real, Naples’ Teatro San Carlo, the National Opera of Paris, Seville’s Teatro de la Maestranza, and other prestigious theaters and concert halls. He has sung at the prestigious Schubertiade Festival in Schwarzenberg (Austria), Rome’s Santa Cecilia Auditorium, Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Toronto Opera Festival, and in Tokyo, Kyoto, Madrid, and the Vilnius Opera Festival, under the direction of the world’s leading conductors.