A Christmas Tale - THE SNOWMAN

Attention! Children under 5 years old – free admission!

THE SNOWMAN - A Christmas Tale

Story by – Raymond Briggs
Music by – Howard Blake
Lithuanian translation – Gintaras Januševičius
Performed by – Gintaras Januševičius, pianist and storyteller

Pianist, storyteller and radio host Gintaras Januševičius is well known to Lithuanian audiences for his innovative recital programmes, in which he combines virtuosic piano playing with text, movement, scents and other elements of theatre. A laureate of the International M. K. Čiurlionis Piano and Organ Competition and a finalist of the renowned Montreal Music Competition, he is one of the pioneers of the narrative recital genre in Lithuania. His programmes “The Little Prince”, “The New Colossus” and “The Merchant of Venice Stories” have been successfully presented around the world. Because of the transformations of repertoire and stage elements accompanying each programme, the German press has nicknamed him a “chameleon”. After becoming a father, Gintaras increasingly began expanding his repertoire with works for young listeners. In Lithuania, great success was achieved by “The Story of Babar the Little Elephant”, performed together with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, in which G. Januševičius is simultaneously the pianist, storyteller, scriptwriter and music arranger.

His new stage challenge is Howard Blake’s “The Snowman”. Written in 1982, the work was inspired by Raymond Briggs’ now-iconic book. Written and illustrated by Briggs himself, the story has for almost 50 years been one of the world’s most popular and iconic children’s books, beautifully conveying the wonder and innocence of childhood. This timeless and magical story is about imagination and friendship, as well as love and loss. It begins on Christmas Eve, when a lonely boy builds a snowman in the yard of his home, soon turning into a night-time adventure filled with wonder.

The animated film based on the work was chosen among the top three most beloved Christmas programmes in British television history. During this interactive performance, G. Januševičius will perform the piano version of the work in Lithuanian, while also engagingly telling the story and even singing. Throughout the concert, the audience will be invited to take part in interpreting the adventure-filled and contrasting story through pantomime. The concert will also feature excerpts from Balys Dvarionas’ cycle “Winter Sketches”.