Riga – European Capital of Culture 2014
This year, Riga is not only the capital of Latvia—one of three Baltic states in northeastern Europe—but also the European Capital of Culture 2014.
Ever since 1201, when Riga was founded, it has been known for its high standards in culture, especially for National Opera performances and festivals. Even world-renowned German composer Richard Wagner worked as a main conductor in Riga (1837-1839), and he composed his opera Rienci at that time.
Nowadays, Latvian opera singers and musicians have conquered the world with their excellent performances, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Latvian artists that have earned great acclaim for their performances at the Met include Elīna Garanča as Carmen, Maija Kovaļevska and Kristīne Opolais as Mimi in La Bohème, Aleksandrs Antonenko as Grigory in Boris Godunov, Egils Siliņš as Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Colline in La Bohème and conductor Andris Nelsons for Turandot. Some of these artists, as well as many others, performed in a special outdoor event in front of the Latvian National Opera house, entitled “Born in Riga.” Famed violinist Baiba Skride; the chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica, which often performs in the U.S. and has been on New York radio; pianist Vestard Šimkus; the Latvian Radio Choir; the Latvian State Academic choir and an orchestra of select Latvian musicians, now playing all over the world, were all a part of “Born in Riga.”
As a European Capital of Culture 2014, the city is presenting exhibitions in numerous galleries of visual arts and a student festival of song and dance called Gaudeamus, which gathers students from all universities in the three Baltic states: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The new, colossal Latvian National Library building, designed by Latvian-American architect Gunnar Birkerts, is also opening. Birkerts came to the U.S. as a refugee in 1949 and founded his own company, Gunnar Birkerts and Associates. He was the architect for The Federal Reserve Bank in Mineapolis and worked on the Corning Museum of Glass and the University of Michigan Law School’s Legal Research building. The Corning Museum of Glass was one of 150 buildings included in the American Institute of Architects’ list of “America’s Favorite Architecture.” Birkerts’ future projects include the U.S. Embassy building in Venezuela and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City.
The possibility of housing the U.S.A. Information Center at the new Latvian National Library is also being dicussed.
Also among the “Riga 2014” events was a grand, open-air dance production entitled “Rise, Fair Sun!” The performance included 3,000 participants—both dancers and singers—and was centered around the theme of the Midsummer Solstice, an ancient custom that celebrates the shortest night of the year. There was also a Fertility Festival, in which people wearing crowns of oakleaf branches and meadow blossoms sang and danced all night at a bonfire—much like Druids.
The largest “Riga 2014” event was the World Choir Games, a remarkable example of international collaboration. Thousands of singers from countries all over the world came to Latvia to share their heritage.
Latvia is known for their excellent choirs. Every four years, the country hosts the National Song and Dance Festival, in which thousands of Latvian singers—as well as singers arriving from diaspora abroad—perform on an open air stage in national costumes. The festival makes participants, performers and listeners feel a very strong sense of national identity.
Many individual concerts and performances are taking place in various venues to celebrate Riga as the European Capital of Culture 2014—it is impossible to mention them all. In a city that already has an active cultural life, the splendor of this year’s countless events exceeds expectations. The vibrant events are enjoyed by visitors from all over the world.
Vija Vetra contacts:
(212)2551736
