The 2026/27 season of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet will bring together tradition and innovation. Audiences can look forward to three new productions of opera and ballet masterpieces and two world premieres of new works by Latvian composers, a diverse opera and ballet repertoire, appearances by outstanding Latvian and international artists, and major concert events. As tradition dictates, the season will conclude with the Riga Opera Festival, presenting the season’s new productions, distinguished guest soloists and a grand Gala Concert.

Five New Productions

The first new production of the season will premiere on 8 October. Richard Strauss’s opera Der Rosenkavalier will be staged by director Viesturs Kairišs, with Zbigniew Graca as Music Director and Conductor. Combining comic situations and the lightness of the waltz with poignant reflections on love and the passage of time, the opera has been staged at the Latvian National Opera only once before, in 1930. The sets and costumes for the new production are designed by internationally renowned designer Germans Ermičs, making his LNOB debut. Lighting design is by Alex Brok Light Design, and Elīna Gediņa is Movement Director. The production will feature the distinguished Austrian bass Günther Groissböck and Czech mezzo-soprano Štěpánka Pučálková alongside soloists of the Latvian National Opera.

The ballet A Midsummer Night’s Dream will premiere on 27 November. Ballet legend John Neumeier created the work for Hamburg Ballet in 1977, inspired by William Shakespeare’s comedy. Nearly fifty years after its premiere, the ballet continues to be staged by leading ballet companies around the world. The production combines humour with dreamlike poetry, while its musical dramaturgy moves through three stylistically distinct worlds. Mārtiņš Ozoliņš will serve as Music Director and Conductor, with sets and costumes designed by Jürgen Rose. A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be the first work by John Neumeier to enter the repertoire of the Latvian National Ballet. Latvian prima ballerina Anna Laudere, a long-standing principal dancer with Hamburg Ballet, will perform in the premiere.

Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera will premiere in Riga on 25 February. This masterpiece intertwines personal jealousy, mysterious premonitions and the conflict between love and duty. Directed by Marina Bianchi, with sets by Leila Fteita and costumes by Lorena Marin, the production received its world premiere at the Teatro Regio in Parma in 2019. Mārtiņš Ozoliņš will serve as Music Director and Conductor. The production features historic sets created by scenographer Giuseppe Carmignani for a 1913 production of Un ballo in maschera marking the centenary of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth.

Spring will bring the world premieres of two new works by Latvian composers. Ēriks Ešenvalds’s ballet Constellation of Longing will premiere on 9 April. The new work is inspired by an ancient legend about seven celestial sisters whose secrets shine brighter than the stars themselves. The creative team includes choreographer Milana Komarova, Music Director and Conductor Andris Veismanis, set designer Ivars Veinbergs, costume designer Kristīne Pasternaka, video artist Roberts Rubīns and lighting designer Reinis Smiltenis.

Composer Krists Auznieks’s opera Rosa Alchemica will receive its world premiere on 20 May. The libretto, based on a story by William Butler Yeats, has been written by Kārlis Vērdiņš. The creative team includes Music Director and Conductor Aivis Greters, director Dāvis Sīmanis, set designer Monika Korpa and costume designers MAREUNROL’S. At the heart of the opera is the protagonist Scarlett’s longing for transformation and her pursuit of beauty and truth, which leads her to the secret Order of the Alchemical Rose.

Outstanding Soloists and Role Debuts

Internationally acclaimed opera singers will appear on the stage of the Latvian National Opera from the very beginning of the season. In Richard Strauss’s Salome on 5 September, the title role will be sung by Vida Miknevičiūtė, who will soon make her debut at the Metropolitan Opera. Marco Jentzsch will appear as Herod, with Zanda Švēde as Herodias. The 11 September performance of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot will bring together acclaimed Latvian opera singers Liene Kinča, Inga Kalna and Aleksandrs Antoņenko.

A special event of the season will take place on 3 and 4 December, when Elīna Garanča returns to the stage of the Latvian National Opera as Santuzza in Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana. Dmytro Popov will sing Turiddu in both performances.

The season will also bring a number of role debuts for Latvian opera singers. Internationally sought-after Latvian mezzo-soprano Zanda Švēde will make her debut as Amneris in Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida on 24 October. In April, young Latvian singers Etīna Emīlija Saulīte and Mihails Čuļpajevs will appear for the first time in leading roles on the stage of the Latvian National Opera in Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème. Other Latvian singers will likewise add new roles to their repertoires over the course of the season.

Information about guest soloists and role debuts will be updated throughout the season.

Another important development this season is the launch of the young artist programme Elīna Garanča. Baltic Young Voices, providing emerging opera singers from the Baltic States with opportunities for professional development and stage experience.

International Opera Stars and New Voices in Concert

The season’s concert programme on the Main Stage of the Latvian National Opera will bring together world-renowned opera singers and artists of the younger generation. On 18 September, internationally acclaimed South African soprano Pretty Yende, whose remarkable international career began at our theatre, will give a solo concert with the Latvian National Opera Orchestra under conductor Pablo Mielgo.

One of today’s leading baritones, Ludovic Tézier, will also return to Riga in the autumn, following his appearances before Latvian audiences in Aida in March. In his solo concert on 4 November, he will perform together with soloists, the Chorus and Orchestra of the Latvian National Opera, conducted by Lorenzo Passerini.

Christmas and New Year at the Latvian National Opera would be unimaginable without two cherished traditions: the ballet The Nutcracker and the New Year Gala at the Opera.

Two special concert events are planned for the Main Stage in spring. A concert performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor on 12 March will bring together an outstanding international cast. The title role will be sung by Jessica Pratt, who has earned worldwide acclaim for her interpretation of Lucia, alongside Levy Sekgapane and Bogdan Baciu. Marco Alibrando will conduct.

On 13 April, rising opera star and countertenor Maayan Licht will give a solo concert with the chamber orchestra Davinspiro Camerata, led by Daniils Bulajevs.

For the first time, the Riga Opera Festival programme will include the concert Voices of the Future. A New Generation of Latvian Opera Singers, offering audiences an opportunity to discover, or rediscover, acclaimed young Latvian opera singers.

Latvian National Ballet in Paris, Estonian National Opera in Riga

International touring is an important part of the Latvian National Ballet’s season. In February, the company will travel to the Palais des Congrès in Paris, where it will give three performances of Edward Clug’s ballet Peer Gynt.

At the beginning of May, the Estonian National Opera will visit the Latvian National Opera, presenting two productions to audiences in Riga: Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly and the children’s ballet Alice in Wonderland.