Mantas Jankavičius has sung the song "Love of My Life" by the legendary band Queen many times in the biggest Lithuanian arenas, but in the LRT TV show "Dream Duets" he will have an exceptional opportunity to perform it alongside the legendary musician Freddie Mercury. The singer says that life is different from the stage, and that the songs of Queen help to unleash not only his body and voice, but also his creativity.
For several years, Jankavičius has been constantly impersonating Freddie Mercury himself, performing the band's most famous songs in special programmes, while his stage image was enhanced by impressive replicas of his costumes.
"When you get a character like that, you can do things you wouldn't do on the street. Freddieʼs music really helped me to break free on stage. Some of the things I still use to this day - the freedom, the expression, the courage, the singing with my body and voice. This music has helped me a lot," he says. Jankavičius says that at concerts he leaves the song "Love of My Life" for the end, when the audience shouts "repeat": "Obviously, I won't repeat "Čiuožki" for the 400,000th time. I start singing Queen and everybody goes crazy. Then the end of the concert is very good, because I sing to everyone in the room. It's such a tender parting."
As every Saturday, four more participants gathered in the Dream Duets studio. The second duo the audience will hear is a duet between TV presenter and singer Gabrielė Bartkutė and one of Australia's best-known rock bands. The singer talks about her life abroad, her struggle with a difficult illness and why she has recently returned to Lithuania.
Theatre and film actor Jokūbas Bareikis performed a piece of sung poetry and moved on to the performance of a Lithuanian singer of great memory. Giedrė Kilčiauskienė, a singer and vocal teacher, entered the studio remotely and together with the audience watched her duet with a jazz and funk band that has changed her musical tastes.
Opera soloist Edmundas Seilius moved on to the performance of another Lithuanian music legend - this time perhaps the most famous opera singer and vocal teacher. He also talked about the influence of this man on her own career. The music project "Dream Duets", which is nearing the finish line, will be broadcast on LRT TV this Saturday at 9 pm.
