Dailes Theatre in Riga Hosts Latvian Premiere of Music Theatre Production "Siddhartha"
The Latvian premiere of the music theatre production "Siddhartha" takes place at Riga's Dailes Theatre on 21 October. The show, which had its world premiere on 10 September at the Ruhrtriennale, was created by Belgian director Lisaboa Houbrechts and features the Latvian Radio Choir.
The Dailes Theatre in Riga is staging the Latvian premiere of the music theatre production "Siddhartha" today, 21 October, on its Main Stage. The show is based on the novel by German writer Hermann Hesse. It had its world premiere on 10 September at the Ruhrtriennale, an international arts festival in Germany, and has also been presented at the Toneelhuis theatre in Antwerp, Belgium.
About the production
The production's author and director is Belgian artist Lisaboa Houbrechts, who is known in European theatre circles as a stage magician. In this work she blends the means of dramatic theatre and opera. The show was created together with American composer Caroline Shaw and involves artists from Belgium, Denmark, Venezuela, the Netherlands and India.
Actress Milēna Miškēviča represents the Dailes Theatre in the international team and plays one of the major roles. One of the key storytellers is the Latvian Radio Choir, conducted by Kaspars Putniņš, whose singing shapes the emotional tone of the dramatisation.
The novel behind the show
Hesse's novel was published in 1922. It follows the spiritual journey of a young Brahmin in India between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE. The allegorical story explores the search for the true self, which the central character finds only after fully giving up his identity. In the novel, enlightenment comes through experience rather than teaching, and is found within.
In Houbrechts' interpretation, the audience is taken on a timeless odyssey in which a person seeks reunion with the self and with spirituality.
Cast
The cast includes Meskerem Mees, Shantala Shivalingappa, Clarron McFadden, Milēna Miškēviča or Lisaboa Houbrechts, Kasper Clausen, Samuel Marinho and Zila Han.
