Latvian National Opera and Ballet

The Latvian National Opera and Ballet (LNOB) is an opera house and opera company at Aspazijas boulevard 3 in Riga. Its repertoire includes performances of opera and ballet presented during the season which lasts from mid-September to the end of May. During a typical season, LNOB presents almost 200 performances, including, on average, 6 new productions. The largest is the Great Hall which houses 946 seats, while the smaller ones – the New Hall, the Dress Circle Hall (Beletāžas zāle) and the Red Hall – have a maximum seating capacity of 338, 170 and 100 respectively. LNOB employs a total of approximately 600 people. The building is located on the bank of the Riga Canal, near the Freedom Monument. As of 5 November 2019, the chairman of the board is Egils Siliņš, an opera singer. The chief conductor since 2013 is Mārtiņš Ozoliņš who is also an associate professor at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. The ballet artistic director since 1993 has been Aivars Leimanis. The origins of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet stem back to 1782 when the Riga City Theatre (Rigaer Stadttheater) a.k.a. the Musse Building was opened.