The guest tour is arranged with the support of Rietumu Bank.
“Woyzeck” by Buchner has been staged in Riga by Kirill Serebrennikov, Art Director of the Gogol Centre, a Russian recognised theatre and film director. At present, he has the reputation of being one of the brightest, biggest and the most advanced stage directors in Russia. Specialists and critics consider him to be a founder of the so-called ‘new drama’, which has been consistently demonstrated, among other theatres, on the stage of the Moscow Art Theatre.
During recent years, Kirill Serebrennikov has been a frequent guest to Riga, where, along with “Woyzeck”, he has staged “Dead Souls” according to the great novel by Nikolai Gogol four years ago. The action of the current performance of “Woyzeck” according to the play of the German poet and playwright Georg Buchner which was written in the 1830s and first published in 1879, is transferred to the present time to a modern art gallery, and its hero becomes the victim of a cruel art experiment. The performance has been very much welcomed by critics.
The second performance is staged by a young director from Riga Vladislav Nastashev, who during his artistic career was studying and staging performances in Latvia, England and Russia. Moscow spectators could see performances of his such as “Mitya’s Love”, “Fear” and “Medea” at the Gogol Centre. This time a new performance – “The Old Woman” will be shown, which is based on the novel by Daniil Kharms and other stories of this outstanding author.
The Latvian National Theatre was established in 1919. The theatre is still located in its historical premises, where Maxim Gorky participated in rehearsals of his plays as far back as in the early 20
th century. Aside from classical performances, the theatre always presents original modern ones, in this way providing a choice both for the most democratic public and for sophisticated spectators. In the course of the history of the theatre, it had several guest tours to Moscow and other cities of Russia.
The current guest tour programme includes two modern performances and this, among other things, has determined the choice of the performance venue. Moscow’s Gogol Centre is a big multimedia theatrical complex established on the basis of the reformed Gogol Theatre. This is not only a theatrical setting, there are many types of modern art presented here as well – apart from theatrical performances, it is also a venue for film presentations, lectures, discussions, concerts and exhibitions.
It is worthy of note that the current guest tour of the Latvian National Theatre is preceded by a wide-scale advertising campaign on Russian TV and in the press.
“When considering the entire palette of the cultural cooperation between Latvia and Russia, theatre is among the obvious leaders. The deep bilateral interest in this field is due to the high level of theatrical art in our countries. Moreover, it has experienced an unprecedented rise in Latvia during recent years, when a number of bright modern directors, whose work has been highly estimated both locally and abroad, have appeared here.
It seems to me that it is this original and in a way avant-garde image of Latvian theatre which will be especially valued by Moscow spectators. We expect to see big interest in these guest tour performances. I am sure that it is not the last project we will present in Moscow. We would like to show the best and the most interesting that is available today in the modern culture of Latvia,” says Alexander Gafin, Member of the Rietumu Bank Council.
Alongside the guest tour of the Latvian National Theatre, from 1 to 7 April an exhibition of works of the Latvian politician and photo artist Janis Krumins “My Latvia” will be held at the Gogol Centre. Last June this exposition, which reflects the transformation of Latvian reality throughout several decades, was shown in Saint Petersburg, at the Moyka Embankment.
Janis Krumins is not only a professional photographer, well known due to his original photos, but also a unique personality in every sense of the word. Being a personal friend of many politicians and business leaders, he is an influential figure among the artistic, governmental and business elite of Latvia. “Janis Krumins is an outstanding person. Apart from photography, which he is so keen on, he is also a recognised public figure and philosopher. He has been a minister several times and one of the originators of the two political parties that have ruled the country over recent decades. His view of Latvia is very precise and, at the same time, individual,” said the former Consul General and now representative of Riga City Council in the regions of Russia Iveta Sers at the opening of this exhibition in Saint Petersburg.
The photo exhibition “My Latvia” will also be held with the support of Rietumu Bank.
Rietumu Bank is recognised both in Latvia and abroad for its support of different projects in the field of art and cultural cooperation between Russia and Latvia in general. For a number of years the bank has been a partner of the “Golden Mask” festival in Latvia. In recent years it has sponsored guest tours of theatres and musical bands of Russia in Riga and of the Latvian National Opera in Moscow, supported the exhibition of Carl Faberge works from Russian state collections in Riga, the exhibition of the modern photo artist Janis Krumins in Saint Petersburg and other projects as well. Eleonora Gailisha Mass Media and Public Relations
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