Composer Gundega Šmite on her opera "The Abduction of Europe", written with her husband across two countries

Latvian composer Gundega Šmite and her partner, composer Dimitris, have created a new opera, "The Abduction of Europe". Ahead of the premiere in Latvia, she spoke in an interview about the joint work, her life between Latvia and Greece, and her literary plans. The opera is linked to the "Arēna" festival, which marks its 25th anniversary this year and with which Šmite has been associated since its beginning.

A first joint experience

The final notes of the opera were written in Greece. According to Šmite, it was their first experience of working together, and the two are not especially similar in how they think about composing, so it was a risk. Disagreements began only in the final stage. The couple came to Latvia for rehearsals.

Šmite says Dimitris is a composer of broader range: he writes symphonies and choral music and works extensively with modern technology and electronics. The work was not split rigidly, though – she took part in creating the electronics, while her husband wrote scenes for instruments and voice alone.

The set design is by artist Katrīna Neiburga. For the final scene she sent a video that the composers used as a kind of score: Dimitris will improvise with electronics against it, while the musicians play instruments.

Europe as a woman

All three developed the concept together. Europe is associated with a woman at different ages, from a newborn to an aging, dying figure, as Europe is now. The opera also includes Europe's rebirth. The libretto of the last scene will come from the audience: an app has been released where anyone can answer what Europe means to them and what story Europe should tell in the future. Dimitris will integrate these texts into Neiburga's video during the performance.

Life between two homes

Šmite was artistic director of "Arēna" until 2012, when she moved to Greece, where she lives in Thessaloniki. She remains a teacher at the Latvian Academy of Music and conducts part of her teaching remotely. She has published three books, including her debut "A Greek Suite" (2022), and is writing a fourth – a collection of stories with observations from Greece and Latvia.