Stanisław Moniuszko: eighteen years of creative work and love in Vilnius

How many years would Stanisław Moniuszko have spent in Vilnius if it hadn't been for Alexandra, love of his life? Would have he stayed in Vilnius for a longer time? We can only make guesses. However, now the question "Why eighteen years of creative work and love in Vilnius?" is easy to answer.
The future composer came to Vilnius with his uncle Alexander in 1836 and stayed at the Müllers' in Vokiečių Street, where he met his hosts' daughter Alexandra. He was seventeen; she was sixteen. Stanisław's heart stayed in Vilnius when a year later he left for Berlin to study. He wrote his fiancée letters and returned to Vilnius every time he had a vacation. In 1840, Stanisław and Alexandra got married at the little Trinitarian Church of Antakalnis, Vilnius. It is in this city that the Moniuszkos were blessed with the birth of ten children and lived through the grief of losing three of them. Like Fryderyk Chopin, Stanisław Moniuszko represents Romanticism in Polish music. In Vilnius, the composer created works that made him famous: cantatas based on Lithuanian thematics, Milda and Nijoła, four Litanies of Ostra Brama, the particularly popular Śpiewnik domowy (Songbook For Home Use), Halka opera and many others.
Stanisław Moniuszko's creative legacy is an important part of the Polish, Belarusian and Lithuanian musical heritage as well as a unique phenomenon in the context of European Romantic music. Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum is happy to present this exhibition on the special occasion of the composer's 200th anniversary.

Curator of the exhibition Dr. Auksė Kapočiūtė-Vaitkuvienė