"It was not until the third year of conducting studies at the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy that I suddenly realised that singing could actually become the centre point of my professional life. I enrolled for opera singing studies and almost immediately found myself rewarded with engagements from the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra and National Opera House. I also entered the XXI Century Music competition and gained 1st prize. Now I was on my path! At last I had rediscovered my magic world which takes full commitment and all my heart."
- Lauryna
"Singing has always been part of my life. I have a vivid memory of sitting on a swing and creating a song which carried me into a magic world. In fact singing was such fun that I never thought it could be real work. Studies in dancing and as an artist seemed something more serious until I could no longer hold back from music."
Lauryna Bendžiūnaitė is a Lithuanian soprano who studied at the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy and the Royal Academy of Music, London.
At the Vilnius City Opera and in the ensemble of the Stuttgart Staatsoper and for the Royal Swedish Opera and the Opéra National du Rhin, the roles she covered included those of Pamina, Susanna, Despina, Zerlina, Änchen, Dalinda (Ariodante) Sophie (Werther) and Karolka.
Her concert repertoire includes works from Purcell to the 20th and 21st century. She has appeared with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian National Orchestra and Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Basle Chamber Orchestra and The English Concert.
She performed Stravinsky’s Les Noces under Robert Trevino and she gave the first performance of Hans Abrahams ‘Let me tell you’ with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. In the Winterop-er of the Kamerata Potsdam she sang in Schubert’s Lazarus and returned for Mahler’s 4th Sym-phony. She will sing this next season with the Nice Symphony Orchestra. With the Lithuanian State Orchestra she has sung works by Britten and Lutoslawski, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder and the role of Roxana in Szymanowski’s King Roger and Carl Orff’s Trionfo di Aphrodite. She returns to them this season in Carmina Burana. For the Pisa Anima Mundi festival, she sang in Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang under Trevor Pinnock repeating this in Tokyo where she will return to sing Despina in Mozart’s Così fan Tutte next season.
As Cultural Ambassador to Neringa Cultural Capital 2021, she launched a production of Handel’s Acis and Galatea for which she invited Pinnock as music director. She plans a new production of the work at the Old Vilnius Theatre with Gintaras Varnas Stage Director in which he and Pinnock will be joined by the Christoforo Orchestra and Jauna Muzika Choir.
As a passionate believer in the importance of singing for generations to come, she has launched an innovative programme of opera for children in association with Frederick Wake Walker’s Mahagony opera.
Following her early appearances as a member of Vilnius City Opera (Pamina, Sophie in Werther, Johanna, Musetta) and as a guest artist with the Lithuanian National Opera and the Royal Swedish Opera, she then joined the ensemble at Stuttgart State Opera where her roles included Musetta, Ännchen, Susanna, Zerlina, Dalinda (Ariodante), Karolka and die Dirne (Reigen) under Sylvain Cambreling, Daniele Rustioni, Kyrill Karabits, Ben Gernon and Crystian Curnyn. For the Opéra Na-tional du Rihn she has sung the roles of Susanna and Despina.
Her concert repertoire is wide, ranging from Purcell to works of the 20th and 21st century. She has appeared with The Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian National Orchestra and Malmö Symphony Orchestra and on tour with the Basle Chamber Orchestra in halls such as Elbphilharmonie, Laeiszhalle, Lucerne KKL, Dresden Frauenkirche, Stuttgart Liederhalle.
For Malmö Live, she sang Les Noçes with Robert Trevino.At the Contemporary Music Festival Gaida she gave the first Lithuanian performance of Hans Abrahams ‘Let me tell you’ with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. Under Gintaras Rinkevicius and the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra she performed Schönberg’s Gurrelieder and works by Britten and Lutoslawski.
She will join them this season in a performance of Carl Orff’s Trionfo di Aphrodite. With Hamburg Philharmonic orchestra she sang Fauré’s Requiem under Sylvain Cambreling.
After opening this season with Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang in Pisa Festival which she also performed in Tokyo along with Psalm 42 with the Kioi Hall Chamber Orchestra under Trevor Pinnock. She re-turned to the LVSO to perform Roxana role in King Roger Szymanowski.
As Cultural Ambassador for Neringa Cultural Capital 2021, she launched a production of Handel’s Acis and Galatea wich she will come back to sing with St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra in Old Vilnius Theatre. This spring she will return to Amsterdam Concertgebouw to perform Bach’s Johannes-Passion under Trevor Pinnock. She follows this with an innovative programme of operas for children in association with Frederic Wake Walker’s ‘Mahogany Opera'.