The Riga Opera Festival, founded in 1998 by the Latvian National Opera (LNO) has already become a valuable tradition. The festival is highly anticipated by both Latvian audiences and opera-lovers from abroad.

To mark the 200^th anniversary of Wagner’s birth, at the Riga Opera Festival 2013 we will present the complete Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle. Richard Wagner was the music director of the opera theatre in Riga, and the new Riga-Ring puts LNO back on the map as one of the leading houses of Wagner. The first part of the cycle, Das Rheingold, was created by Norwegian director Stefan Herheim, who has been named “the most brilliant Wagnerian alive” (The Guardian). The next three productions of the tetralogywere staged by Viestur Kairish, one of the greatest Latvian opera, theatre and cinema directors.

The Festival will also feature the best productions of this season. Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor is staged by the LNO General Director Andrejs Žagars, who has been internationally praised as one of the most interesting talents among today's stage directors. The highlights of the festival will also include Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, staged by highly acclaimed Russian director Dmitry Bertman, as well as the young Latvian composer Andris Dzenītis’ opera Dauka. To mark the anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi, we will present Verdi’s Gala Concert with spectacular soloists.