Vanemuine and Latvian opera swap stages for guest performances

The Vanemuine national theatre and the Latvian National Opera and Ballet are exchanging stages for guest performances in Tartu and Riga this week, ERR reported.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Vanemuine’s main theatre will host two guest performances by the Latvian National Opera and Ballet.

On Tuesday, August 25, the company will perform Gaetano Donizetti’s opera The Elixir of Love. The production was directed by Austrian director Sven-Eric Bechtolf, with Latvian National Opera chief conductor Mārtiņš Ozoliņš serving as music director.

On Wednesday, August 26, the Latvian company will present Carl Orff’s ballet Carmina Burana to a full house. The choreography is by Edward Clug, whose short ballet The Rite of Spring premiered at Vanemuine this spring. The production brings together the Latvian National Ballet, the Latvian National Opera orchestra and choir, and opera soloists.

Vanemuine will perform in Riga in three genres. Its Latvian tour begins on August 27 at Dailes Theatre, where it will stage the drama The End.

On August 28, the Latvian National Opera will host Petr Zuska’s dance, music and spoken theatre production Prayer. Homage to Arvo Pärt, inspired by the composer’s music.

On August 29, the company will perform George Frideric Handel’s baroque opera Julius Caesar, directed by Elmo Nüganen.

Vanemuine theatre director Aivar Mäe described the cooperation as a genuine cultural bridge between Estonia and Latvia.

“There is no point waiting for the world to come to us; we must also set out ourselves. Vanemuine must stay in motion. Traffic on this bridge runs in both directions,” Mäe said.