Riga City Theater (; ) was the first permanent theater in the city of

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

in Latvia, founded in 1782. It was the first permanent theater in Latvia and the Baltic. It hosted both theater as well as opera performances and concerts. It is the origin of the current

Latvian National Opera The Latvian National Opera and Ballet (LNOB) is an opera house and opera company at Aspazijas boulevard 3 in Riga. Its repertoire includes performances of opera and ballet presented during the season which lasts from mid-September to the end of ...

. It was a center of culture in the

Baltic region The Baltic Sea Region, alternatively the Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states, refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, including parts of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Un ...

, and

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

(1837–39),

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

(1842),

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; ; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic music, Romantic era, she exerted her influence o ...

(1844),

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ran ...

(1844) and

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

(1847) where all employed there at some points in their careers. During the Soviet period (1940-1941 and 1944-1989), it was known as the "Latvian SSR State Opera and Ballet Theatre". The former Muse Society House at 4 Riharda Vāgnera Street has now been rebuilt, and the Latvian National Opera has been operating in the new building of the Riga City Theater in Riga since 1919.

History

The origins of the Riga City Theatre date back to 1782, when the 500-seat Riga City Theatre House, designed by Haberland, was opened, its director Otto Hermann von Füttinghoff-Schöll maintained a large symphony orchestra of 24 musicians at his own expense, and when the Muses Society bought the building in 1815, the building became known as the Muses House. In 1837-1839,

was the theatre's

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

. In 1860-1863, a new theatre building was built in Riga with almost 2000 seats, which opened with productions of Friedrich Schiller's Wallenstein's Camp and Ludwig van Beethoven's

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

. Designed by the architect Ludwig Bonstet (1822-1885) as a Hellenised Classical building, the building was rebuilt in 1882-1887 to a design by the city architect Reinhold Schmeling after it burnt down in a fire. The theatre was closed down during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and only reopened as the Deutsches Stadttheater after the German troops entered Riga in 1917. National Opera House Riga

On 23 January 1919, by order of Andrejs Upītis, the head of the Art Department of the Education Commissariat of the LSPR, the Latvian Opera moved into the Riga City German Theatre building, and on 9 February the Latvian Opera was renamed the "Soviet Latvian Opera". From May to August 1919, the German theatre company was again active in the building of the 1st City Theatre in Riga, after which the Latvian Opera moved back in.On 23 September 1919, the

Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia The government of Latvia is the central government of the Republic of Latvia. The Constitution of Latvia () defines Latvia as a parliamentary republic represented by a unicameral parliament (Saeima) and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republi ...

adopted the "Regulations on the National Opera", and on 2 December the Latvian National Opera staged a performance of Richard Wagner's opera "

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; ), often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265. His name ...

", which was celebrated as the day of the establishment of the Latvian National Opera. After the occupation of Latvia, it was renamed the "State Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Latvian SSR", and during the

German occupation of Latvia during World War II The military occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany was completed on 10 July 1941, by Germany's armed forces. Initially, the territory of Latvia was under the military administration of Army Group North, but on 25 July 1941, Latvia was in ...

(1941-1944) the "Riga Opera Theatre", after which the former name was restored. On 24 April 1989, the 70th anniversary of the Latvian National Opera was celebrated and the name was changed back to the name used during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

Theatre managers and artistic directors

It is known that the first theatre manager of Riga in 1782-1788 was Otto Hermann von Füttinghoff-Schöll. In 1837-1839 Richard Wagner was the theatre's Kapellmeister, in 1844-1855 and 1859-1862 Johann Schramek (Schramek, Šrámek), in 1863-1865 Johann Schramek was the theatre's Kapellmeister. 1863-1863, Ernst Catenhusen, 1865-1866, Eduard August Molnar, until 1893, Otto Lohse, 1898-1900, Bruno Walter.

References

{{reflist * Dziļleja K. Rīga - teātru pilsēta. / Rīga kā Latvijas galvaspilsēta. - Rīgas pilsētas valdes izdevums: Rīga, 1932. 18th-century establishments in Latvia Theatres completed in 1782 18th century in Latvia History of Riga