SYMPHONIC MUSIC AT THE LATVIAN NATIONAL OPERA IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD

Abstract

During the development period of the modern European nations, the opera theatres, amongst other institutions, became symbols of their cultural identities. In the largest capitals of Europe (Vienna, Paris, Berlin) opera theatres acquired authority and prestige beginning already in the 19th century, maintaining their status of objects of state prestige after World War I. Meanwhile, opera music was one of the most important objects of national identity. Since the proclamation of the national independence of Latvia on November 18, 1918, the Latvian National Opera (1919, further LNO) became the most significant and only opera centre in Latvia. During the period between the world wars, the opera theatre was a Latvian music institution par excellence. It represented the state and was a prestigious institution that, amongst other activities, facilitated the creation of new music and served as a platform for the composers of Latvia, who, in accordance with the state-defined objectives of the LNO, realized their ideas in the genres of musical theatre.