Latvian National Opera House, Riga, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Latvian National Opera House (Latvijas Nacionālā opera) is Riga's main home for opera and ballet, a neoclassical theatre on Aspazijas bulvāris at the edge of the Old Town. It stands beside the green ribbon of the City Canal and is one of the best-known cultural buildings in Latvia, as much for its setting as for the performances inside.

The story behind it

The building was first opened in the early 1860s as a German-language city theatre, designed by the architect Ludwig Bohnstedt. In the nineteenth century Riga had a large German-speaking community, and the theatre was a showpiece of its civic life. A fire later in the century destroyed much of the original, and the building was rebuilt in the same classical spirit.

After the First World War and the founding of the Latvian state, the theatre became the home of the Latvian national opera company, and it has kept that role since. The building has been restored in more recent decades, and it remains the home of both the opera and the national ballet.

What to look for

• The columned portico and triangular pediment on the front, the clearest signs of the building's neoclassical style.
• The setting beside the City Canal, where the water and the trees of the boulevard frame the facade from across the park.
• The contrast between the calm classical front and the busy streets of the Old Town just a few minutes away.
• If you attend a performance, the foyer and the traditional horseshoe-shaped auditorium, which are worth arriving early to see.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 20 minutes to see the exterior and the park around it, or an evening if you book a performance.
• Visiting the interior is normally done with a ticket for a show, so check the current programme and opening hours before you go.
• Late afternoon and early evening are pleasant, when the facade catches the light and audiences gather outside.
• The Freedom Monument, the Old Town and the canal-side parks are all within an easy walk, so the opera fits well into a longer stroll.

Explore it on a quest

The streets around the Opera House reward slow walking, and a self-guided quest is a good way to do it. Browse the quests in Riga to find a route that passes through the centre: the app guides you on foot from place to place, tells you about each stop as you arrive, and sets a puzzle in what is in front of you. There is no guide and no group to join, so you can start whenever you like.