Virgilijus Noreika
Encyclopedia
Virgilijus Kęstutis Noreika (born 22 September 1935, Šiauliai
) is a Lithuania
n tenor
.
in 1958. A year earlier, while still a student, he was engaged as a performer at the National Opera and Ballet Theater of Lithuania. In 1959, Noreika sang the part of Alfredo Germont in Verdi's La traviata
, one of Noreika's favorite and most frequently performed roles. Later in 1965, he continued his career at the La Scala
, in Milan
. There he mastered six new roles, and also sang the part of Pinkerton
, from Puccini's Madame Butterfly, at the famous Opera House.
Noreika's creative biography comprises more than 40 operatic roles: Cavaradossi from Tosca
by Puccini, Faust from Faust
by Gounod, Rudolfo from La bohème
by Puccini, Otello from Otello
by Verdi, to name a few. Noreika has performed in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theatre
, in Buenos Aires at the Teatro Colón, in Paris at the Opéra National de Paris, and many other famous Opera house
s. Noreika has sung in more than 30 foreign theaters, participated in more than 1000 performances, given approximately 600 solo concerts, recorded some 20 phonographic records and CDs
. In 1997, he celebrated his 40th anniversary as an operatic tenor, and received the Kipras Award from the Opera Fellow Society. Noreika, semi-retired, is currently a Professor at the Music Academy of Lithuania.
Šiauliai
Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...
) is a Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
.
Career
Noreika graduated with honors from the Lithuanian State ConservatoryLithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre
The Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius, Lithuania, is a state-supported conservatory that trains students in music, theatre, and multimedia arts.-History:...
in 1958. A year earlier, while still a student, he was engaged as a performer at the National Opera and Ballet Theater of Lithuania. In 1959, Noreika sang the part of Alfredo Germont in Verdi's La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, one of Noreika's favorite and most frequently performed roles. Later in 1965, he continued his career at the La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. There he mastered six new roles, and also sang the part of Pinkerton
Pinkerton
Pinkerton may refer to:*Pinkerton , a 1996 album by Weezer*Pinkerton, Ontario*Pinkerton National Detective Agency, a detective agency founded in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton*Pinkerton Academy, a high school in Derry, New Hampshire...
, from Puccini's Madame Butterfly, at the famous Opera House.
Noreika's creative biography comprises more than 40 operatic roles: Cavaradossi from Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
by Puccini, Faust from Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
by Gounod, Rudolfo from La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
by Puccini, Otello from Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
by Verdi, to name a few. Noreika has performed in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
, in Buenos Aires at the Teatro Colón, in Paris at the Opéra National de Paris, and many other famous Opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
s. Noreika has sung in more than 30 foreign theaters, participated in more than 1000 performances, given approximately 600 solo concerts, recorded some 20 phonographic records and CDs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. In 1997, he celebrated his 40th anniversary as an operatic tenor, and received the Kipras Award from the Opera Fellow Society. Noreika, semi-retired, is currently a Professor at the Music Academy of Lithuania.