10 must-see operas in Riga

Classic

Nabucco

/ Military confrontation between Judah and Babylon /

In his autobiography, Giuseppe Verdi, the composer of this opera, admitted of his true creative career beginning with “Nabucco”. March 9, 1872 – the day when the opera premiered at “La Scala” – that’s when the composer became famous.

The libretto for this opera was written by the poet Temistocle Solera, who had previously offered his work to another composer, but he considered it “unworthy of the Italian stage”. Verdi quickly realized, having seen the texts of Solera, filled with vivid scenes of battles and seething passions, that it was necessary to put these words into music.

The play has been in the repertoire of the Latvian National Opera since 1996. The part of Abigail for several years now has been performed by Liene Kincha, a two-time winner of the “Latvijas Gāze” award in the nomination for “Best Opera Soloist of the Year”.

La Traviata

/ Story about the sad fate of a woman crushed by the pressure of social inequality, but even more so, a story about great love /

In 1853, another opera by Verdi was presented to Venice – “La Traviata”. However, the audience turned out to be dissatisfied: firstly, the actress playing the role of a girl dying of tuberculosis was “too corpulent”. And secondly, the costumes seemed too modern for the taste of the audience. However, further on this opera was staged around the world enough times to polish it to perfection.

La traviata is considered by many Verdi’s most emotional opera, revealing him mainly as a romantic composer. The key to it is in the music – mainly the waltz, which creates this feeling of duality: a long-awaited feeling of love going hand in hand with a deadly disease.

The plot of the opera was borrowed from a previously written drama “Lady of the Camellias”, and the prototype of the main character was created by Parisian courtesan – Marie Duplessis.

The Opera was added to LNOB repertoire in 2007. This time, the problem with the costumes, which happened at the premiere almost two centuries ago, was made sure not to arise again: Kristine Pasternaka, the main costume designer, created a real masterpiece.

Aida

/ The love story of an Ethiopian princess and an Egyptian warlord /

The inspiration for the story of “Aida” was the work of the Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. He deciphered the original Egyptian papyrus – on it was the legend of the long-term conflict between ancient Egypt and Ethiopia. The premiere of “Aida” took place in Egypt – in honor of the opening of the Cairo Opera.

“Aida” is incredibly spectacular: hostilities, constant intense struggle between enemies and lovers – and a completely unexpected end. And for many years, “Aida” has held first place in the prestigious ranking of the most performed operatic works in the world. The opera was first shown in Riga in 1998.

Flying Dutchman

/ Time, road and waiting /

Richard Wagner is perhaps one of the most controversial figures in the history of music. He devoted his entire creative life exclusively to operas.

An interesting fact – from 1837 to 1839 – Wagner, still unknown then, lived in Riga, serving as chief bandmaster. His opera “The Flying Dutchman”, although not written in the capital of Latvia, is nevertheless directly connected with it. More precisely, it relates to Wagner’s escape from Riga.

There are different versions of why the composer had to leave the city so urgently. For example, according to one of them, Wagner was simply running away from creditors.

In those days, the legend of the ghost ship excited the imaginations of many. Wagner was no exception. During the composer’s flee from Riga to England, his ship was caught in a severe storm. So strong that Wagner came close to becoming a part of the legend of the ghost ship. Having gotten out of the storm, the composer decided to write an opera based on this famous plot.

“The Flying Dutchman” is a metaphor for a person who can’t find happiness and peace. It seems to be hidden in the ocean and surrounded by thick fog.

This idea became the main clue for the Latvian director Viesturs Kairish, who staged The Flying Dutchman on the stage of the Latvian National Opera in 2018. And although this opera was staged in Riga repeatedly, Kairish significantly modernized all of what’s happening on stage in cooperation with stage designer Reinis Dzudzilo.

Madame Butterfly

/ A touching love story of the Japanese geisha Cio-Cio-san and the American officer Pinkerton /

This legendary opera is based on a play that the composer Giacomo Puccini found during his trip to London.

“Madame Butterfly” premiered in Milan in 1904. In one of the most important and beautiful moments of the performance – the first appearance of the main character on the stage was accompanied by “ominous Italian silence”. It translated as failure. After that, the opera was edited for several months to give it a second premiere – this time much more successful.

The Latvian “Madame Butterfly” stands out on the background of other opera productions of the grand theater. For the Latvian National Opera, this is perhaps the most historically significant play. After all, almost no changes have been made to it since the premiere in 1925. The ideas for set design and costume design are also original: the famous Eduards Vitols created them more than a century ago.

Turandot

/ In fabulous times, an incredibly beautiful but just as insidious princess lived in Beijing, who loved asking everyone the same riddles /

“Turandot” is the last and unfinished opera by Giacomo Puccini. He died without seeing its incredible success with the premiere taking place in 1926, two years after the composer’s death. This opera was completed by Puccini’s student Franco Alfano.

At the premiere, during the moment of Puccini’s last notes being played, the conductor stopped the performance to say: “Here death snatched the pen from the hands of the maestro.” The whole performance was shown only the next day.

This opera is based on the plot of a fairytale from the 18th century. Story takes place in China, so it was important for Puccini to come up with something that would take the audience into the atmosphere of what is a mysterious country to the Europeans. The composer skillfully wove traditional Chinese themes into this work.

Modern showing of the classics

Cinderella

/ Rework of the fairytale: a funny story for adults /

Director Renaud Doucet and stage designer André Barbe created the creative duo “Barbe & Doucet” in the early 2000s. Together they staged dozens of opera productions in different theaters around the world. The duet was invited to Latvia specifically to produce the play “Cinderella”.

If the title inspired you to attend this opera with children, take your time: the action of the fairytale has been moved to 1930s New York, time of the Great Depression. And Cinderella here is a costume designer behind the scenes of a variety show.

The duo “Barbe&Doucet” tells a story that is closer to reality, in which the concept of “Be beautiful and kind – you will meet a prince” does not work. Their Cinderella is still a dreamy girl, but she is definitely not in the victim’s position. What has remained unchanged however is the wonderful original musical work of Gioacchino Rossini: tenderness, comicality and slight hooliganism.

Don Juan, or “The Libertine Punished”

/ Comedy, grotesque and black humor /

Gioacchino Rossini and Richard Wagner considered Don Giovanni the greatest opera ever written.

On the stage of the Latvian Opera, this ancient legend about Don Giovanni, set to music by Mozart, was interpreted by the famous Argentinian director Marcelo Lombardero. His production is built around a very familiar story, only the action being transferred to modern times. With grand multimedia installations in the background creating an atmosphere of the duality of the world: real and virtual.

Carmen

/ Born free, die free /

Carmen is a truly revolutionary opera by the French composer Georges Bizet. Why revolutionary? The fact is that before Carmen, women on the opera (and on any other) stages had never shown themselves so openly, vividly and sensually.

In the original production, Carmen is an incredibly beautiful gypsy woman who disrupted the usual course of life in Seville in the 1820s. The Latvian “Carmen” is an interpretation of Marie-Eve Signeyrole, a well-known film and theater director of French origin. She tries to transfer the plots of her works to the present.

She also transferred the action of the classic “Carmen” to the present: now instead of Seville, events take place on the outskirts of the modern city “without a name” – a place that absorbs the dreams and hopes of everyone who was not lucky enough to be born here. In this town, Carmen is a symbol of the desire for freedom and the fight against stereotypes.

Bonus: opera for children

Amal and the night guests

/ Opera for children (or for adults who want to start their acquaintance with opera from scratch) /

“Amal and the Night Guests” is the first opera written specifically for television – the American NBC. It premiered on Christmas Eve, 1951 and was intended primarily for children. Composer Gian Carlo Menotti, with the help of music, conveyed his own childhood fantasies, which come to life particularly vividly during the winter holidays.

The composer wrote this opera inspired by Bosch’s “Adoration of the Magi”. According to the plot, the main character Amal – a little lame boy with a very rich imagination – meets three mysterious men heading to see the newly born Christ. They stop for the night in the hut of Amal and his mother – and completely change the life of the family.

“Amal and the Night Guests” only appeared in the repertoire of the Latvian National Opera in March, 2022 – but the audience immediately fell in love with this play. “This opera, first of all, talks about “a child with a star in his hands” – meaning, all the children of the world,” says Anta Priedite, director-choreographer of the performance.

By the way, this opera is performed all year round, and not just in winter, as you might have assumed.