Before coming to Latvia, my couchsurfing host in Riga exchanged a few emails to me. She also suggested me to visit Kemeri National Park, which I absolutely loved.
And she also suggested me to watch an opera or some concert, as it’s a part of Latvian’s culture. They are quite proud about their cultured identity, despite the fact that she said Latvia is a poor country. And in my eyes, yes, the country is young (younger than me!) yet she has rich history and culture (from Soviet Union and prior to it).
So, I found out Madam Butterfly was on, and my host offered to buy the opera tickets for us (and we could pay her later) as she said I might have difficulty in registering an account. It was really flattering when someone you haven’t met would go out of her way to help you .
You can check from their official website if there’s any program that interest you.
We bought the cheapest seat…..again! After our experience in Saint Petersburg, we were more careful in our luggage. But I don’t think people in Latvia cared. And we went to our seats ourselves. It’s a beautiful theatre, although small, and I could not see as much as I did in Mikhalovsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. The seats were also less fancy. The place felt a bit more crowded.
BUT, the quality of the performance was good! It was better than I expected although being different than what I saw on the internet. Did I enjoy an opera? I like musicals better. This opera was sung in Italian, and although there were subtitles… I didn’t feel the delivery. It didn’t impress me and it felt more like I completed a task of watching an opera in Latvia.
Would I recommend watching an opera in Latvia? Sure! Why not? It’s still a cool and ‘cultured‘ experience. And if I have a chance, I’d do it again in Vienna 🙂
Traveling Mega
