Andrew Andersons. Rīga and The Latvian National Opera. A Short Introduction

Looking at the painted curtain for the 2014 production of “Il Trovatore” from the “Belle Étage” or first tier.

The building of the Latvian National Opera was designed by St. Petersburg architect Ludwig Bohnstedt in 1860 and completed in 1863. After disastrous fire in 1883 it was re-constructed by the Riga City architect Reinholdt Georg Schmaeling in 1885-1887. It was known as Riga German Theatre. This is not the building in which Richard Wagner conducted from 1837-1839.

The History of opera in Riga dates from 1782 when Baron Otto Hermann von Vietinghoff sponsored performances in this building Vāgnera iela No 4. The walls of the building survive but the auditorium was infilled. After a few years it was operated by “Musse” society and altered on various occasions. The seating plan shows a horseshoe tier as well as stalls tier. The large stage and pit are said to have influenced Wagner’s ideas for his building in Bayreuth.

A portrait of Wagner, when in Riga, in 1837. His two-year stay in Riga was surrounded with controversy due to his extravagant life-style. Contrary to tradition, he conducted the orchestra facing the musicians nether than the audience.

A view of Wagner’s living room in the 1830s. The building, non demolished, stood on the corner of Brīvības and Dzirnavu streets (near the present hotel Radisson Blu Latvija).

A poster for Bellini’s “Norma” conducted by Kapellmeister Wagner. He conducted 20 operas, while in Riga, including 5 premieres.

A drawing of the fortifications of Riga in 1858. The walls were demolished in the early 1860, and the new German Theatre was built on the site of the bastion circled on the drawing. Similar re-construction took place in most European cities. Perhaps Vienna’s Ringstraße is the most famous example.

A bird’s-eye view of Riga at the end of the 19th century. The German Theatre can be seen with its fore-court in the park belt.

Reinholdt Georg Schmaehling’s plan for the re-construction of the building in 1885. The commodious stage is considerably larger than the auditorium. Separate access stairs are provided to the stalls, lower tiers and upper galleries preventing the awkward confrontation between various social classes.

A cross-section showing the elaborate 19th century staging system which was replaced in 1995 by modern technology. The large ventilator removes warm air from the auditorium by natural convection.

The seating plan of the theatre is similar to that of Covent Garden with three tiers and a stalls aisle. But with some 1200 seats it is somewhat smaller in size.

Bruno Walter was the Kapellmeister at the end of the 1890s. His stay in Riga is described in his auto-biography.

At the fur of the 19th-20th centuries Riga enjoyed an economic boom as imperial Russia’s most important port. It reached a population of over 500 000 on the eve of World War I. George Armitstead was the Mayor for the first decade of the 20th century. This statue was unveiled by Queen Elisabeth in 2006. Armitstead was the nephew of 1st Baron George Armitstead who was a close friend to William Ewart Gladstone, the British Prime Minister.

A poster for the international exhibition to mark the 700th anniversary of the foundation of the city of Riga in 2011 by Bishop Albert of Bremen. The poster is in three languages: Russian, German and Latvian. The government was Russian, business and the professions operated in German and about half of the population was Latvian. There were also Polish and Yiddish-speaking Jewish minorities. It was a truly multi-cultural city.

A poster for a performance of guest-conductor Pietro Mascagni, not long after the premiere of “Cavalleria Rusticana”.

With the commencement of World War I activities of German Theatre ceased and it was taken over by a Russian theatre group. When German forces occupied Riga in 1917 German opera activities resumed including a visit from the Royal Dresden Opera. The recently founded Latvian Opera was denied access to the theatre. This cartoon dates from this period.

The owners of the Neiburgs Hotel have an intimate connection with the Latvian National Opera. Sydney architect Andrew Andersons is the grandson of the hotel buildings original owner and builder Ludvigs Neiburgs. His paternal grandfather Alfrēds Andersons (second from left) was the mayor of Riga from 1921-1928. Alfrēds Andersons translated Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” into Latvian for the initial performance in 1919. His sister (first from left) Erna Reiters (née Andersons) sang Venus. His other sister Zelma Mauriņš (née Andersons) was married to Emīls Mauriņš who sang Wolfram. The performance was conducted by Ernas husband Teodors Reiters.

A photograph of Teodors Reiters, long-time conductor of the Latvian National Opera as well as the professional choir, named after him which visited London in 1925 and 1939.

Emīls Mauriņš and his sister Herta Lūse who sang Octavian in “Der Rosenkavalier” in 1930 and Kostelnichka in “Jenufa” in the 1943-44 season during the German occupation.

After the Russian revolution a number of emigrés performed in Riga, including conductor Emil Cooper, singer Fyodor Shalyapin and stage director Piotr Melnikov. Melnikov staged a large number of Russian operas.

Milda Brechmans-Štengels was the leading diva of the Latvian National Opera singing many roles in a career spanning forty years.

Milda Brechmans-Štengels as Aida.

Another image of Milda Brechmans-Štengels as Aida.

A cartoon marking Brechmans-Štengels' 15th anniversary of opera performances. She is holding a weight named “Walkīra” (“Walküre” over her head.

Brechmans-Štengels visited the Soviet Union in the late 1920s for guest performances of “Salome” and “Aida” at the “Bolshoi” and Tbilisi opera theatres. Upon her return right-wing Latvian university students caused a riot which halted her performance.

A party at the opera in the lobby on the first floor in 1930. Brechmans-Štengels can be seen in the top right-hand corner.

A spectacular production of Goldmark’s “Queen of Sheba” in the 1930s, set by Ludolfs Liberts.

Ludolfs Libert’s set for “Parsifal” in 1934 anticipates the minimalism of the Bayreuth productions by Wieland Wagner in the 1950s.

Ludolfs Libert’s set design for Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville”.

Ludolfs Libert’s set design for Borodin’s “Prince Igor”.

Baritone Ādolfs Kaktiņš as Lāčplēsis the mythological Latvian hero from Jānis Mediņš Wagner-inspired opera “Uguns un nakts” (“Fire and Night”. The libretto by great Latvian writer Rainis is rich in symbolism about the Latvian historic situation.

Leading Latvian “Heldentenor” Rūdolfs Bērziņš as Herod in Strauss’”Salome”.

Ādolfs Kaktiņš in Verdi’s “Rigoletto”.

Fyodor Shalyapin visited Riga on a number of occasions. Famously he insisted on taking the chorus of the Latvian Opera with him to the Berlin Staatsoper for performances of Moussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov.”

Max Reinhardt, the celebrated Austrian director was invited to produce operettas in the 1930s to assist with the financial crisis of that time. He is fourth from the left, front row, with the cast of Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus”.

The artistic high point of the pre-war activities was the musical direction of Leo Blech from 1937-1941. Blech was the Jewish musical director of the Berlin Staatsoper giving guest performances in Riga in 1937. He was advised that he should not return to Berlin under increasing impact of the Nazis. His inscription is to Milda Brechmans-Štengels to “his Riga Carmen, Aida etc.”. Shortly after the German occupation in 1941, Blech was allowed to leave Riga for Sweden through the intervention of Hermann Goering.

The Opera house was always been the venue for major state events. This view shows a ceremonial concert on the 20th anniversary of the proclamation of independent Latvia on 18th November 1918. Latvia’s authoritarian dictator, President Kārlis Ulmanis can be seen standing in the front row of the presidential box.

In June 1940, Latvian was forcibly annexed by the Soviet Union. The semiotics of communist value made a dramatic appearance on the building’s facade. During the first year of occupation a grandiose production of the national Latvian opera “Baņuta” by Alfrēds Kalniņš was created but composer was instructed to change the tragic ending to a “happy finale” in keeping with the ethos of the Soviet Union.

Although the half century of Soviet occupation of Latvian was tragic and has left a bitter legacy, musical standards were high. Riga saw the first post-war productions of “Die Walküre” in the USSR. Žermēna Heine-Vāgnere can be seen in the title role. Benjamin Britten visited Riga with the English Opera Group in the 1950s and Riga staged early productions of “Peter Grimes” and “Katerina Izmailova” with the participation of Shostakovich.

“Salome” was another Riga favourite with outstanding performances by Žermēna Heine-Vāgnere. Here Solveiga Raja can be seen in the title role in the 1980s.

In the 1960s and 70s Jānis Zābers was the leading tenor. His early seath from pancreatic cancer engendered a funeral procession formed by thousands of mourners which was seen as an anti-soviet demonstration.

After the renewal of independence in 1991 one of the first tasks of the newly elected Latvian government was to restore the opera house. John Allison of “Opera” magazine has called it “arguably Europas loveliest opera house.”

The set of “Madame Butterfly” dates from 1924. It is the only surviving set of an opera from Puccini’s lifetime.

Curtain calls at the end of “Madame Butterfly”.

Under the directorship of Andrejs Žagars, Latvian National Opera has attained international stature, especially with it’s Riga Opera Festival. This set for an ectra-ordinary production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” is by Andris Freibergs. The whole of the opera’s action takes place on a cruise liner.

In 2013, Žagars long term directorship was terminated. It remains to be seen what the new management will bring.

About the author Andrew Andersons (born 5 July 1942) is an Australian architect and opera devotee. Andersons was born in Riga, Latvia and his family settled in Australia in August 1949. He is the Principal Director of PTW Architects (formerly Peddle, Thorpe and Walker Proprietary Limited)