Antanas Kučingis : laiškai, dokumentai, atsiminimai

LTKnyga skirta žymiam lietuvių operos solistui, Lietuvos kariuomenės karininkui Antanui Kučingiui (1899-1983). Knygoje skelbiama dalis archyvinės medžiagos iš A. Kučingio palikimo, saugomo M. ir K. Petrauskų lietuvių muzikos muziejuje. Laiškai, dokumentai, atsiminimai, nuotraukos, asmeniniai daiktai byloja apie įvairiaspalvę menininko asmenybę, dramatišką jo gyvenimo kelią sudėtingu istoriniu laiku. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: 20 amžius; Menininkai; Dainininkai; Tremtis; Laiškai; Istoriniai šaltiniai; The Lithuanian XX c. history; Artists; Vocalists; Exile; Letters; Historical sources.

ENAntanas Kučingis was one of the most prominent personalities in the history of Lithuanian culture, an incredibly talented singer, a Lithuanian Army officer, a military topographer, a political prisoner and a courageous fighter for Lithuanian identity. A. Kučingis was born in Veiveriai, October 18th, 1899. He received education at Veiveriai Teachers’ Seminary, worked as a teacher in Musninkai, the district of Širvintos. In 1920, A. Kučingis graduated from Kaunas Military School and joined the Lithuanian army. Soon he understood that singing was his great passion and in 1923 he entered Kaunas Music School, where he studied in a wellknown Lithuanian opera singer Aleksandras Kutkus’ class. One year later he had his debut in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin, where he featured Gremin. Soon he received a job as an opera soloist at the State Theatre and took part in a series of opening night performances. For his merits as an officer A. Kučingis was awarded the 4th degree Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas. In 1937 it became impossible to balance between work at the theatre and military service, therefore he retired from the army, having received by that time the rank of major. A. Kučingis’ repertoire became wider and wider - in two decades he created about 60 parts. His multiple talents - the rich unique quality of his voice, its wide range and dynamics, the artist’s charisma, his expressive and suggestible performance - brought Antanas Kučingis great popularity in Lithuania and on theatre tours in Paris, Prague, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and Moscow. However, his breathtaking career as a singer was stopped in 1948, when he was arrested, charged with anti-Soviet activity, interrogated and on 2nd of May was sentenced, not by court but by a special act of the Department of Home Affairs of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, to ten years of imprisonment and correction by forced labor in special labor camps.He spent eight years in special Soviet gulags, and when he finally came back to Lithuania, the rest of his life was no longer so creative due to the repressions of the Soviet regime. In October of 1956, A. Kučingis had to perform his part of Mephistopheles in Ch. Gounods opera Faust in Vilnius Opera and Ballett Theatre, but the performance was called off and this brought about a political scandal. Later, after much effort, the singer was accepted back into the Theatre, but his work there lasted for only five years. He was deeply hurt when in 1961 he was made to apply for "voluntary" early retirement, although he felt he was in the prime of his creative life. Therefore, when Kaunas Musical Theatre invited him to sing in their operas, he accepted with great pleasure. According to A. Kučingis himself, the Musical Theatre was always full of beautiful audience. After the performancef "Faust" in 1966, he wrote to his sister Birutė Žiogas, who lived in America: "There was a lot of hearty applause, loads of flowers and much pleasant excitement". The singer also found much pleasure in concert activity, especially when his accompanist was his granddaughter Jūratė Šleinytė. On the eve of his eightieth birthday A. Kučingis experienced one more hit of the Soviet regime - he was mercilessly beaten, which did not prevent him from celebrating his delayed anniversary at Kaunas Musical Theatre and in Vilnius Art Palace. His numerous admirers’ love and attention, which is witnessed by hundreds of warm, sincere letters, greeting cards and telegrams, accompanied him through his whole life and were the source of his strength until the last of his days. A. Kučingis died on 7th of July, 1983, and was buried in Romainiai cemetery. His bust, made by sculptor Stasys Žirgulis, was opened next to his house in Aušros street in 1989, and ten years later, in 1999, in the City Garden near Kaunas Musical Theatre.This book aims to introduce the reader to some archival material from A. Kučingis legacy, which is stored at M. and K. Petrauskai Lithuanian Music Museum. A. Kučingis’ fund consists of more than 3 700 exhibits, given to the museum by the artist himself and his children - his son Algimantas Kučingis and daughter Rasa Šleinienė, as well as some other citizens. His photos, letters, documents, personal items witness the artist’s versatile and rich personality, his dramatic life in harsh historical circumstances. The singer’s epistolary legacy consists of more than a thousand letters. Almost all the correspondence is of personal nature and includes letters from family members, relations, close friends and former theatre colleagues. There are about 370 letters written by A. Kučingis himself, 232 of which were selected for the book. The letters, dating from 1919 to 1925, and from 1949 to 1980, portray A. Kučingis’ personality - a romantic young man at the beginning, a responsible husband and father a bit later and, finally, a human being, who had to endure enormous injustice from the Soviet regime, witnessed sufferings of his family members, was deeply hurt, but never broken. Unfortunately, there are almost no letters at all from two decades of the most creative part of his life, when A. Kučingis lived in Kaunas and could communicate with his family, theatre and army friends directly. This period of his life is illustrated amply by photos from the singer s personal albums. A much smaller part of the correspondence, included into this book, is made of 34 letters to A. Kučingis. This chapter includes letters of significant content and those written by famous people. The letters are arranged in chronological order. Most of them have never been published before. 22 letters were published in the book "Antanas Kučingis. Vilnius, 1993" by Ona Narbutienė. Some letters were expurgated, some very personal or insignificant places omitted. [...].

• Muzikologija / Musicology
• Istorija / History