Menu
Global Europe
  • Eastern Europe
    • Economy
    • Music
  • European Union
    • Italy
    • Ireland
  • More Continents
    • Ports in Southern Africa
    • Music in Central America
    • Asia History
  • History
    • Albania Recent History
    • Andorra Recent History
    • Armenia Recent History
    • Austria Recent History
    • Azerbaijan Recent History
    • Belarus Recent History
    • Belgium Recent History
    • Bosnia and Herzegovina Recent History
    • Bulgaria Recent History
    • Croatia Recent History
    • Czech Republic Recent History
    • Denmark Recent History
    • Estonia Recent History
    • Finland Recent History
    • France Recent History
    • Georgia Recent History
    • Germany Recent History
    • Greece Recent History
    • Hungary Recent History
    • Iceland Recent History
    • Ireland Recent History
    • Italy Recent History
    • Latvia Recent History
    • Liechtenstein Recent History
    • Lithuania Recent History
    • Luxembourg Recent History
    • Macedonia Recent History
    • Malta Recent History
    • Moldova Recent History
    • Monaco Recent History
    • Netherlands Recent History
    • Norway Recent History
    • Poland Recent History
    • Portugal Recent History
    • Romania Recent History
    • San Marino Recent History
    • Slovakia Recent History
    • Slovenia Recent History
    • Spain Recent History
    • Sweden Recent History
    • Switzerland Recent History
    • Ukraine Recent History
    • United Kingdom Recent History
    • Vatican Recent History
    • Yugoslavia Recent History
  • Arts and Literature
    • Albania Arts and Literature
    • Austria Arts and Literature
    • Belarus Arts and Literature
    • Belgium Arts and Literature
    • Bosnia and Herzegovina Arts and Literature
    • Bulgaria Arts and Literature
    • Croatia Arts and Literature
    • Czech Republic Arts and Literature
    • Denmark Arts and Literature
    • Estonia Arts and Literature
    • Finland Arts and Literature
    • France Arts and Literature
    • Germany Arts and Literature
    • Greece Arts and Literature
    • Hungary Arts and Literature
    • Iceland Arts and Literature
    • Italy Arts and Literature
    • Latvia Arts and Literature
    • Lithuania Arts and Literature
    • Luxembourg Arts and Literature
    • Malta Arts and Literature
    • Moldova Arts and Literature
    • Montenegro Arts and Literature
    • Netherlands Arts and Literature
    • Northern Macedonia Arts and Literature
    • Norway Arts and Literature
    • Poland Arts and Literature
    • Portugal Arts and Literature
    • Romania Arts and Literature
    • Serbia Arts and Literature
    • Slovakia Arts and Literature
    • Slovenia Arts and Literature
    • Spain Arts and Literature
    • Sweden Arts and Literature
    • Switzerland Arts and Literature
    • Ukraine Arts and Literature
    • United Kingdom Arts and Literature
  • Mass Media
    • Mass Media in Czech Republic
    • Mass Media in Denmark
    • Mass Media in Eastern Europe
    • Mass Media in Finland
    • Mass Media in France
    • Mass Media in Germany
    • Mass Media in Greece
    • Mass Media in Iceland
    • Mass Media in Italy
    • Mass Media in Lithuania
    • Mass media in Netherlands
    • Mass Media in North America
    • Mass Media in Northern Europe
    • Mass Media in Norway
    • Mass Media in Oceania and Australia
    • Mass Media in Russia
    • Mass Media in South America
    • Mass Media in Southern Europe
    • Mass Media in Spain
    • Mass Media in UK
    • Mass Media in Ukraine
    • Mass Media in Western Europe
Global Europe
Latvia

Movies and Theater in Latvia

Posted on September 21, 2020May 11, 2020 by globalsciencellc

Theater in Latvia

Theater in German and Russian

Latvian theater largely has its background in amateur theater which was common in both the cities and the countryside in the 19th century. The first professional theater built on both German and Russian theater, e.g. Deutsches Theater in Riga, which had existed since the 18th century and performed both drama and opera. This theater became a role model for the development of a theater of Latvian national language. The Russian theater in Riga was founded in 1883 and had the Moscow Artist Theater as its role model and the Stanislavsky method as ideal. But also more theatrical Russian directors influenced the development of a Latvian theater.

Latvian-language theater

The first Latvian theater in Riga dates from the end of the 19th century as an expression of the desire to establish a Latvian-language culture. The first period of flourishing came in the 1890s with comedies from rural life and from the conflict between city and country, and European drama was also played. The new Latvian theater was founded in 1902, and later came Riga’s new theater (Jaunais Riga’s theater) which left lasting traces with its social problems and its naturalistic style of play. The theater’s activities were interrupted by the First World War. In 1919, two new state theaters were founded in Riga: the Soviet Soviet Opera House and the State Academy Theater. The Latvian drama theater played a major role after Latvia again became part of the Soviet Union in 1940, and both during the period of independence between the two world wars and later, the Stanislavsky method has continued to play an important role in Latvian theater. Western as well as Russian classics were listed.

After independence

After the liberation from the Soviet Union in 1991, the theater was only through an apparently serious crisis. However, theater interest is great, and with the break with the Soviet era it has been possible to play a whole new repertoire. Stylized forms of expression in an almost postmodern direction have unfolded, among other things. at what is today called Riga new theater. Ritual expressions have also come into today’s Latvian theater which has proved very dynamic.

Movies in Latvia

The first Latvian films were produced in 1910. The wartime production consisted mainly of documentaries. In the Soviet period, the state-run Riga Film Studio eventually produced approx. 10 feature films a year, many of them crime movies. Herz Fran, Juris Podnieks and Ivars Seletskis have all made documentaries that have received international distribution. From recent years feature film production can be mentioned Aivars Freimanis with Gutten (1981), Ianas Streitch with Andre’s passions (1986) and Gunars Piesis with Maija and Paija (1991). Production conditions have been very difficult in the 1990s, but Freimanis succeeded in bringing his film Redet (1995) to the premiere, and Laila Pakalnina gained attention with Posten (1996), a wordless depiction from one of Riga’s suburbs. The Virgins in Riga (1996) was a Norwegian-Latvian collaboration project directed by Norwegian Norwegian Emil Stang Lund. Peeter Simm created the first Estonian-Latvian co-production The Good Hands (2001).

Latvia

Recent Posts

  • Faroe Islands Arts and Literature
  • Liechtenstein
  • Geography of Latvia
  • Attractions in Budapest
  • Aland Arts and Literature
©2021 Global Europe