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The Latvian National Theater is a theater in Riga,
Latvia, which has been operating since November 30, 1919. The
theater building was built in 1902 as the 2nd Riga City Theater at
the expense of the Riga City Board.
The State of Latvia, the
Latvian Cultural Foundation and the City of Riga participate in the
maintenance of the Latvian National Theatre. The theater building
was built in an eclectic style and is an architectural and artistic
monument of national importance.
Construction of the theater building
In 1897, the Riga city board
decided that the city needed a second city theater (the first was the
so-called German theater), organizing an open sketch competition, in
which the 1st place winner will also be the project implementer and
construction manager. Six projects participated in the competition,
which were mainly submitted by architects of the Russian Empire. The
winner was the project with the motto "Dum spiro, spero" ("While I
breathe, I hope!" Ovid), which was submitted by Augusts Reinbergs
(founder and chairman of the Riga Society of Architects and later a
member of the city council). The idea was supported by Vidzeme governor
V. Surovtsev and the city council, which donated 10,000 rubles for the
purchase of decorations and stage furniture. A site for the construction
of the theater was found on Pushkin Boulevard on the other side of the
city moat. The then well-known businessman Krišjānis Ķergalvis won the
tender for the main construction works. The artistic decoration works
were led by the Berlin architect V. Henschels, the constructive part was
supervised by T. Tiefs. The carpenter's work was supervised by K.
Steinerts, the elder of the Small Guild, and the sculptural and
ornamental works of the facade were ordered by A. Foltz's workshop. The
glazier's work was carried out by the workshop of craftsman A.
Shvolkovskis, the carpentry by M. Pagast's company. Artistic forgings
were commissioned by K.J. Bergman's workshop (which used to make door
elements for the Dome Church).
In June 1899, construction work on
the building began. Unthankful was the location of the plot with the
sharp downward slope of Nikolaja Street, only 30 meters from the
Nikolaja Bridge over the city canal (which was 61 cm higher than the
sidewalk in front of the theater). Ground research showed that the main
part of the building is located above the old fortification pit, on the
sand. Earth, sawdust, etc., is piled on top of everything as a filling.
materials. Under the projected part of the stage was the spire of the
former Citadel bastion. While digging a construction pit, they found a
paved road and the remains of the telegraph wires that connected the
stock exchange with Bolderaj in 1852. In order to neutralize the flowing
sand, 1,493 piles are laid in the foundations of the building. To avoid
possible groundwater moisture, the walls of the basement were covered
with Portland cement, which was popular at the time. The walls were made
of bricks in lime mortar, the basement ceiling was vaulted. The roof
structure consisted of six iron beams, from which hung a wooden ceiling
designed according to the English system. The ceiling had three large
openings in the longitudinal axis and 12 smaller ones for fresh air
supply. They were covered with wooden slats pressed into U-shaped iron
holders. The plaster was placed on a double layer of reeds, followed by
a cork filling covered with 2.5 cm thick boards. The roof was covered
with galvanized iron sheet, which was painted green, which effectively
contrasted with the surroundings in winter, but matched the foliage of
the surrounding trees in summer. During the construction, the architect
was criticized for the low volumes of the building and non-homogeneous
roof shapes, not being able to imagine how picturesquely the baroque
volumes of the building, the plastic curvature of the mansard roof and
the arrangement of building materials would fit into the environmental
landscape. The building was electrified: 4 chandeliers in the foyer, 428
lamps inside the building, but the stage part was especially delicately
lit for those times - 2879 white, 180 red and the same green lamps, as
well as two corner lamps for effects. The theater building was also
built at a technically high level, because the ventilation and air
conditioning system, ingeniously created at that time, was still working
in the 20th century. in the second half. The iron curtain was made in
the Riga factory "R.H. Mantels" and it served until the reconstruction
of the theater in the 21st century. at the beginning. The total cost of
the entire building and stage equipment was 344,964 rubles and 21
kopecks. The stage equipment was ordered in Munich.
Riga City
Second Theater (1902-1918)
The Second Theater of the city of Riga, or
the Riga Russian Theater, was opened on September 14, 1902, and its work
began on September 15 with the premiere of A. Ostrovsk's play
"Sniegbaltīte". Both theater and opera performances took place in the
theater building.
As the front of the First World War approached,
most of the Russian inhabitants of Riga fled. After the February
Revolution, in the summer of 1917, the Latvian Stage Society, which
united 34 Latvian theater organizations during the events, proposed to
the Riga City Council to return the theater building to the disposal of
Latvian actors. The initiative met sharp objections from the Russian
members of the Riga City Council. "Colonel Engler reprimanded that the
2nd theater was built specifically for the art of Russian theater and
therefore it is unacceptable to expel Russian art from it, where the
Latvians already have two theaters on Pushkin Boulevard and Romanova
Street. Bogačov is also definitely against handing over the Russian
theater to the Latvians, because with destroying the work of Russian
culture; the Latvians do not need this theater, because they have rooms
for rallies, which are also sufficient for their theater performances,"
"Baltijas Vēstnesis" reported from the decisive council meeting. There
was also bickering among Latvian MPs. Aurēlijs, close to the Latvian
Association of Riga (RLB) Zöberg insisted that the empty theater should
not be given to the "completely foreign" Workers' Theater Council, but
to the traditional RLB Theater. However, the Riga City Council headed by
Gustav Zemgal, with 24 votes in favor and 14 against, decided to hand
over the 2nd city (Russian) theater building to the Riga Workers'
Theater theater council.
When the German troops occupied Riga in
the fall of 1917, the theater was rented by the theater commission of
the Latvian Society of Riga. In 1918, part of the actors returned from
their flight and on October 15, the Latvian opera performance "The
Wandering Dutchman" by Richard Wagner was held under the auspices of
Riga City Mayor Paul Hopf (the orchestra was conducted by Teodors
Reiters). On November 18, 1918, the Republic of Latvia was proclaimed in
the theater building.
Workers' Theater (1919)
With the decree
of February 8, 1919 on the nationalization of theaters, the chairman of
the LSPR Government, Pēteris Stučka, assigned this building to the
Latvian Workers' Theater (the statutes of the Workers' Theater were
adopted, i.e. it was founded on July 17, 1917), entrusting its
management to the writer Andrejas Upītis, the head of the Art Department
of the Commissariat of Education and ensuring regular funding from the
state budget. On February 23, it started its activity with Leon Paegles'
play "Resurrection" (directed by Alfred Amtmanis-Briedīš). The theater
troupe was made up of the experienced artists of the former New Riga
Theater who came from Soviet Russia - Alfreds Amtmanis-Briedītis, Berta
Rūmniece, Aleksis Mierlauks, etc. - as well as a number of actors who
founded the Provisional National Theater in Valka in July 1918, at the
instigation of the poet Jānis Akurater. On May 22, the LSPR government
and the army had to evacuate Riga, but on August 15, the headquarters of
the Kurzeme division requisitioned both city theaters - the Workers'
Theater stopped its work.
Latvian National Theater (1919-1940)
On September 23, 1919, the head of the Latvian Ministry of Education's
writing and theater department, Jānis Akuraters, issued an order on the
establishment of the National Theater as a state theater. A special
commission was established in the Ministry of Education whose task was
to reorganize the Workers' Theater and the name of the theater is also
being changed to "National Theater of Latvia". The events were delayed
by the Bermontiade, but on November 30, 1919, the Latvian National
Theater was opened with the premiere of R. Blaumanis's play "Ugunī"
(directed by Alekš Mierlaukas, who came from Russia). In the fall of
1921, Rainis became the director of the National Theater for four years.
Famous directors such as Biruta Skujeniece, Ernests Feldmanis, Aleksis
Mierlauks, Alfreds Amtmanis-Briedītis, etc. work in the theater.
At the beginning of the twenties, the most performed plays, therefore
the most demanded by the audience, were the dramatization of the Kaudzis
brothers' novel "Mērnieku laiki in Slātava", which was performed more
than 30 times in 1922; Raina's "I played, danced" and "Jāzeps and his
brothers" in 1922 - 25 and 17 times, respectively. In 1923, A.
Brigadere's "Maija and Paija" was performed 26 times, and Aspazija's
"Aspazija" - 21 times. In the 1920s and 1930s, Fyodor Komisarzhevsky,
Aleksandr Zelverovich and Mikhail Chekhov staged plays alongside the
local ones, who also brought up the issues of acting techniques. As well
as Latvian directors and actors who gained professional education and
experience in Russia and Germany: Ernests Feldmanis, Jānis Zariņš,
Marija Leiko, Lilija Štengele and Teodors Lācis. This galaxy of
directors established the now traditional style of the National Theater
- national patriotic ideals in large productions with psychological
realism in the play style, individualized mass spectacles, a high
dialogue culture, actors - personalities and painted scenery in the
background.
Along with Jānis Kugas, the scenography of the
performances was created by the artists of the Riga Expressionist group
established in 1919: Voldemārs Tone, Oto Skulme and Niklāvs Strunke,
Eduards Brencēns, but from 1920 until 1938, the former assistant of
Jānis Kuga in the New Riga Theater became the artist of the National
Theater. professional decorator Artūrs Zimmermanis.
Drama Theater
(1940-1988)
After the Soviet occupation of Latvia on August 7, 1940,
the theater was renamed the State Drama Theater of the LPSR, but the
actor Žanis Katlaps was appointed as its director (at first, Emīls Mačs,
but he refused the position).
During the occupation of Nazi
Germany, the theater troupe was fired and performances of the Soldiers'
Theater were held in the building. In 1942, the Ostland authorities,
however, allowed the troupe to resume operations under the authority and
supervision of the occupation administration's Arts and Public Affairs
Administration - but forbade the use of the theater name "National
Theatre" and renamed it "Rīgas Dramatic Theatre", in which L. Bērziņa,
J. Osis, E. Zīle, A. Mitrēvics, K. Veits, Ž. Katlaps, etc. actors.
Drama theater performances resumed a week after the Red Army entered
Riga on October 20, 1944. In 1946, the coat of arms of the city of Riga
was forged from the facade and the coat of arms of the LPSR was created
instead. The theater was under the management of the Arts Affairs
Department of the LPSR and operated as an independent legal entity on
the basis of economic calculations and the theater's statutes. Alfreds
Amtmanis-Briedītis (1944-1966) was appointed as the main director. In
the part of the balconies, 12 decorative vases were destroyed as "excess
luxury" and the baroque ornaments above the entrances were removed. On
September 5, 1949, with the decision of the MP of the LPSR no. 974
theater was given the name "State Academic Drama Theater of the LPSR"
and from 1953 the theater was under the Ministry of Culture of the LPSR.
In the 1950s, a stage with a revolving wheel was built.
In 1971,
the theater was named after A. Upīš. In the 1970s, according to the
project of O. Dombrovskis, a small auditorium and a cafe were arranged
in the basement of the building. The main director of the theater at
that time was Alfreds Jaunushans (1966-1987). In order to improve the
quality of acting, not only the Artistic Council worked, but the
performances were also analyzed in the production meetings of the
actors' workshop, where the entire troupe had to participate and where
the topics to be discussed were divided - who would talk about and
analyze whose work. The quality of the performances was also influenced
by the discussions in the party's original organization, which year by
year became an increasingly important part of the theater, which had
advisory rights, which sometimes turned into decision-making rights. The
authorities demanded from the dramatists performances that glorified
Soviet power, but the audience preferred to attend performances of plays
by Latvian classics (Raiņa and R. Blaumaņa), as well as the most
prominent dramatists of other countries (V. Shakespeare, H. Ibsen, A.
Chekhov, etc.) - NT succeeded to achieve a balance between these two
requirements and the hall was always crowded because people were looking
for the truth, which the directors and actors often tried to tell
"through flowers" with artistic means. As if it were a holiday, hundreds
of people always gathered at the Drama Theater to watch "Skroderdienas
Silmachis" by Rudolph Blaumanis, which turned into an annual tradition
at the beginning of summer until our days.
The works of
playwrights from other countries were also staged. For example, for the
first time in the USSR, the production of the famous Williams play
"Streetcar Named Desire" took place in the Drama Theater of the Latvian
SSR (dir. Alfred Jaunušans) with Antra Liedskalnin in the main role. As
the theater writer Lilija Dzene writes: "A. Jaunušana and A.
Liedskalniņa's tragic request for mutual understanding and compassion
was included in the context of the best performances of the Latvian
theater of that period."
From 1967 to 1981, the director Alfred
Jaunušans staged H. Gulbja's "Aija žužu, a child as a bear" (1968),
Raini's "Pūt, vējiņi" (1968), T. Williams' "Ilgu tram" (1969), F.
Molnāra "Lilioms" (1971), A. de Mises "Lorencacio" (1973), J. Farker's
"Cavalier's Trick" (1975), R. Blaumanis' "From the Sweet Bottle" (1981).
Director Mihails Kublinskis staged "Wild captain Kihnu Jens" (1967) by
J. Smūl, "Santa Cruz" by M. Friša (1971), l. Įurko "Elektra, my love"
(1977), J. Goldman's Lion in Winter (1980). Valdis Lūriņš staged
"Spartaks" by A. Upīš (1977), "Emīls and Berlin Boys" (1979) by
Ē.Kestner. The 1970s in the theater are associated with the names of
famous actors such as Anta Klints, Elza Radziņa, Kārlis Sebris, Velta
Līne, Lidija Freimane, Astrida Kairisa, Đirts Jakovlevs, Uldis Dumpis,
Lāsma Kugrēna, etc. Gunārs Zemgals dominated scenography. In the 1980s,
a course of young actors entered the theater: Dace Bonāte, Ilze Rudolfa,
Ināra Slucka, Juris Lisners and Jānis Reinis. As the authors of plays,
three dominated - Gunārs Priede, Harijs Gulbis and Pauls Putniņš, on
these authors, who competed with each other, the line of national drama
remained until the beginning of the 90s.
Latvian National Theater
(from 1988)
On November 17, 1988, the name of the Latvian National
Theater was renewed, which was approved by the decision of the Cabinet
of Ministers on March 8, 1991). The main director of the theater was
Mihails Kublinskis (1987-1989). Economically, it is an autonomous state
company "State company with limited liability of Latvia National
Theatre", which operates on the basis of the theater's statutes and
enjoys the rights of a legal entity.
In recent years, directors
Indra Roga, Regnārs Vaivars, Elmārs Senkovs, Valters Sīlis, Kirils
Serebrennikovs, Kārlis Krūmiņš, Ināra Slucka and others have staged
plays in the theater. There are 850 audience seats in the Great Hall,
and 100 seats in the actors' hall.
Principal Directors and
Artistic Directors
Alexis Mierlauks (1919—1921)
Alfreds
Amtmanis-Briedītis (1944—1966)
Alfred Jaunushan (1966—1987)
Mihails Kublinskis (1987—1989)
Olgerts Crowder (1989—1995)
Edmund
Freiberg (1995-2011)
Elmārs Senkovs (from 2022)