The legendary film musical "The Devil's Bride," which captivated thousands of viewers, is back!
After a standing ovation at the end of 2025 and numerous requests from the audience, the exclusive project "The Devil's Bride" returns to the stage and will be shown on August 29 at the Palanga Concert Hall.
Last December, the beloved "The Devil's Bride" returned with such power that every audience felt it in the arenas of Panevėžys, Kaunas, Šiauliai and Klaipėda. It was more than a concert - it became a significant cultural event, once again confirming the immortality of this work and the unfading love of the audience.
For the first time in history, this film classic is presented in a completely new format - with live accompaniment by the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra and rhythm group, with the participation of the Vytautas Magnus University Academy of Music choir and the most prominent Lithuanian soloists. In the main roles: Povilas Meškėla (Baltaragis), Ona Kolobovaitė (Jurga, Marcelė), Vidas Bareikis (Pinčiukas), Rūta Lukoševičiūtė (Uršulė), Egidijus Bavikinas (Girdvainis), Ištvanas Kvikas (Raupys) and Laurynas Baškys (Anupras).
The artistic director and conductor of the project is maestro Jonas Janulevičius, chief conductor of the Kaunas State Musical Theatre, leader of the Kaunas Juozas Naujalis Music Gymnasium Students' Symphony Orchestra, chief conductor and musical director of the international festival "Operetta in Kaunas Castle", and professor at the Vytautas Magnus University Academy of Music.
Almost 100 performers will appear on stage, and the film "The Devil's Bride", digitized and restored in 4K resolution at the initiative of the Lithuanian Film Center, will be shown on the big screen. It will be accompanied by a live performance of the brilliant music of Viačeslav Ganelins and poetic texts by Sigitas Geda. According to viewers who have already seen this project, it is one of the most interesting and high-quality musical spectacles in the history of Lithuania.
This project is not only entertaining, but also educational – it gives the younger generation the opportunity to get acquainted with the classics of Lithuanian literature in person. In 2025, Lithuania celebrated the 120th anniversary of the birth of the rebellious writer Kazys Boruta (1905–1965), and his most famous work – the novel “Baltaragis malūnas” (1945) – turned 80 years old.
The 1974 musical film "The Devil's Bride", based on this novel, has long since become a classic of Lithuanian cinema. The screenwriters are Arūnas Žebriūnas and Sigitas Geda, the composer is Viačeslavas Ganelinas, the director is Arūnas Žebriūnas, the cinematographer is Algimantas Mockus, the designer is Filomena Linčiūtė-Vaitiekūnienė, and the choreographer is Adomas Gineitis. The main roles are played by Vaiva Mainelytė, Regimantas Adomaitis, Gediminas Girdvainis, Regina Varnaitė, Vasilijus Simčičius, Bronius Babkauskas, and Juozas Meškauskas.
Film critic Saulius Macaitis has said about the film: "This is one of the most popular and distinctive Lithuanian films... a cheerful dynamic that destroys the legend about the gloomy nature of Lithuanians and becomes a separate chapter in the entire Lithuanian cinematography."
