Ilona Bagele

When the mysterious captain of a phantom ship is cast ashore in a storm, he tries to escape eternal damnation through the love of a faithful woman.

A wedding goes awry when the venue catches fire and the bride is dragged into the underworld. Only a kokle player is brave enough – and musical enough – to venture there and save her. With its mummers, imps, three-headed demon king and singing mole cricket, I Played, I Danced is a story like none other. Composed in 1977, Imants Kalniņš’s elaborate musical language is blended with Latvian folk to create a unique and moving soundworld. Leading young Latvian director Laura Groza-Ķibere and visual artist Miķelis Fišers bring out the wild energy of this opera in their new production that forces us to ask: How much should we fight the demons of the past while striving for a better future?

This four-part historical drama follows the end of Catherine the Great's reign and her affair with Russian military leader Grigory Potemkin that helped shape the future of Russian politics.