The Latvian National Opera and Ballet is based on Aspazijas Boulevard in Riga, on the bank of the City Canal near the Freedom Monument. The neoclassical building was erected from 1860 to 1863 to designs by Ludwig Bohnstedt as the city theatre for the German Theatre of Riga; it opened with Schiller's Wallenstein's Camp and Beethoven's Fidelio. After a fire in 1882, city architect Reinhold Schmaeling rebuilt it by 1887. Since 1919 it has been home to the Latvian Opera, which began performing in 1912 under Pāvuls Jurjāns with Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. At the predecessor building, the city theatre opened in 1782, Richard Wagner was Kapellmeister from 1837 to 1839. The Great Hall seats 946, alongside smaller halls such as the New Hall with 338 seats. The company gives almost 200 performances per season.
The Latvian National Opera in Riga, opened in 1863, was the venue of the Singing Revolution of 1989-1991 — when Latvia achieved its independence from the Soviet Union through folk songs and demonstrations.
At a glance
- Type
- Opera house
- Location
- Riga, Latvia