Judita Leitaitė is often described as an exceptionally artistic and prolific musician. Apart from performing major mezzo-soprano parts in classical masterpieces, she does not shun the popular repertoire, including songs by Marlene Dietrich, Edith Piaf, Alexander Vertinsky, Russian romances, French chansons, highlights from the musicals, etc. She has presented special programmes of art songs for voice and piano by Lithuanian, Italian, Jewish and Scandinavian composers, as well as those dedicated to sacred music, women composers, and portraits of the famous singers. As a dedicated interpreter of Lithuanian contemporary music, she has premiered vocal works by Vytautas Laurušas, Anatolijus Šenderovas, Mindaugas Urbaitis, and Osvaldas Balakauskas, whose Requiem with her participation was recently released by Naxos.

 

Judita Leitaitė joined the National Philharmonic Society immediately after her studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre with Giedrė Kaukaitė in 1985. Early successes at intentional competitions, which included the Glinka Competition in Baku (1987) and International Vocal Competition in Finland (1991), brought her to the attention of international audiences. She has widely toured in Europe, Israel, the US and the South African Republic. Among her concert partners were the Lithuanian and Moscow chamber orchestras, the LNSO, London Symphony Orchestra, Vilnius String Quartet, Čiurlionis Quartet, Musica humana, as well as many Lithuanian and international pianists and organists. Judita Leitaitė is in demand not only at major concert halls, but also on various radio and television programmes.

 

In 1997 she participated in the celebration "Music on the water" held at the Palace of the King of Sweden (1997, Stockholm). Her performance at the Baltic Music Fest in Norrtälje, Sweden (1997) was a true sensation. Svenska Sanomat then wrote: “Audience was charmed not only by the beauty of the voice of fabulous vocalist Judita Leitaitė, but also by her compelling musical rendering.” In 1998, she became the Summer Star of Newport Music Festival (USA). “The North American debut of the Lithuanian mezzo-soprano Judita Leitaitė was greeted by thunderous ovations," wrote Newport festival newspaper Newport this week.

 

She has made successful appearances at numerous international festivals, including Wratislavia Cantans (1995, Poland), ArtGenda (1996, Copenhagen, Denmark), Gaida (1998,Vilnius, Lithuania), Vilnius Festival ’99 (Lithuania) and the International Festival of Jewish music (2000, London, UK), and collaborated with many renowned conductors, such as Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Saulius Sondeckis, Juozas Domarkas, Leo Botstein and Constantine Orbelian.

 

Ms. Judita Leitaitė performs regularly throughout her native Lithuania. She is on demand not only on the main concert stages, but also on various Radio and TV programs, at schools, orphanages, churches, benefit concerts, as well as jazz concerts and religious events. In 1996, she participated in concerts for children-victims of Chernobyl as part of the Swedish program “Star of Hope.”

 

Her record credits currently include well over 200 recordings for the Lithuanian and Finnish Radio, and four CDs (she was the first among Lithuanian singers to record a portrait CD, released in Finland in 1995).