Sesto Quatrini is stepping down as Artistic Director of the Lithuanian National Opera.

In an open letter, the conductor said, “On 30th June 2023, my term as artistic director of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre will come to an end. In October 2016, when I was invited to Vilnius to conduct a Kristine Opolais Gala, I could never have imagined that the concert was to become the first act in a long personal and artistic love story with the LNOBT and, more in general, with Lithuania and its people.”

He added, “I remember with pride the results achieved from a musical, artistic and educational point of view, with the extension of the theatre’s repertoire to include extremely heterogeneous works and very different languages and styles: ‘Candide,’ ‘Gambler, ‘Der Rosenkavalier,’ ‘Rigoletto,’ ‘La Traviata,’ ‘Anna Bolena,’ Zarzuela and the upcoming ‘Die Schöpfung,’ ‘Aida,’ ‘Les Contes d’Hoffmann.’ Then there’s the creation of the new summer festival OPEN, the Opera Track project, the establishment of a baroque ensemble within the theatre and the resulting creation of the Cappella Concertante Vilnense, the idea of commemorating 13th January (the January Killings) every year at our theatre, with our orchestra and chorus, and then all the lessons and presentations of new productions given to our audience.”

He went on to note how many international artists have accepted invitations to the theater and that many Lithuanian artists have performed at the theater to great acclaim, including Asmik Grigoryan, Edgaras Montvidas, Kostas Smoriginas, Tadas Girininkas, Ieva Prudnikovaitė, Modestas Pitrėnas, Justina Gringytė, and Katerina Tetryakova, among others.

Even though the conductor will depart from his position he will return next season as a guest conductor to lead “Aida” and “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.”