News & Events

The new Latvian passports now being issued contain biometric information, which requires passport applicants to appear before consular personnel.

To facilitate the process for Latvian citizens living abroad Latvian government representatives will visit cities in the USA and Canada including New York on July 27, 28 and 29, 2010  during which time mobile passport workstations will be used to accept passport applications outside of the usual consular location.

In New York the mobile passport workstations will operate at the following times and locations:

Tuesday July 27 from 09:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 18:00 - at the Long Island Church Parsonage (35 Beaumont Drive. Melville, New York 11747. Tel. 631-643-5297).

Wednesday July 28 from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 15:00 to 19:00 - at the Yonkers Church (254 Valentine Lane (pie Leighton Ave), Yonkers, New York  10705. Tel: 914-476-4787).

Thursday July 29 from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 15:00 to19:00 - at the Brooklyn parsonage (564 Second St , Brooklyn, New York 11215).

The Embassy of Latvia in the United States requests that any Latvian citizens wishing to apply for a passport or to renew they passport during these days submit the required passport information in advance to the Embassy. For further details please visit the Embassy’s website or by contacting them direct on +1-202-328-2840; email:  consulate.usa@mfa.gov.lv  

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

May 3, 2010

Congratulations, Latvia, on 20 years of restored independence!

Two decades ago, in the face of uncertainty and danger, your legislature voted to restore Latvia’s sovereignty, breaking the Soviet Union’s hold over your country. That brave decision was backed by the will of the Latvian people, many of whom risked their lives to make sure that they defended independence.

Today, your vibrant democracy is an inspiration to countries around the world that are now struggling themselves toward freedom. Your efforts to bring peace and stability to places torn by conflict and devastated by disaster are a testament to the spirit of the Latvian people.

Rebuilding a nation after five decades of occupation is not easy, but you can be proud of what you have achieved in the last twenty years. Membership in NATO and the European Union took patience and persistence, and they were richly deserved.

The United States is honored to call you a strategic ally and a close friend and we look forward to working with you to meet the challenges of this, the 21st century.

So again, I offer you the congratulations and best wishes of the American people – for all of your past accomplishments and for all the promise that your future holds.  

Please click here to see Secretary Clinton's video of this announcement.

New York’s  Metropolitan Opera  on February 22^nd announced its 2010/2011 season plans which again will feature many Latvian performers.

Acclaimed German director Peter Stein will make his Met debut with a new production of Mussorgsky’s opera "Boris Godunov", in which the role of Dmitry will be performed by Latvian tenor Alexander Antonenko. The October 23^rd performance, featuring Alexander Antonenko will be broadcast worldwide via the Met Opera’s HD simulcast.

In November and December, Elina Garanca will return enabling the public to once again experience her magnetic Carmen performance.

In October and November, Maija Kovalevska will return to sing the role of Mimi in "La Boheme".

After an outstanding debut this season with “Turandot”, Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons will return in March for Tchaikovsky's opera "The Queen of Spades" .

For further details on the Met’s 2010-2011 season please visit www.metopera.org

The former President of Latvia, H.E. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga will be the keynote speaker at the LIFE (Lutheran Social Services of New York) Annual Dinner on March 4th.

The event will take place 6 pm - 9 pm at Terrace on the Park, 52-11 111th Street, Flushing Meadows Park, NY 11368.

For more details and tickets, please contact Susan Lewin, Event Coordinator: email slewin@lssny.org or tel 1-212-870-1113.

A Dutch Orchestra Plumbing the Depths

When Mariss Jansons took over the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam in 2004, he quickly set about muting the bright sound cultivated by his predecessor, Riccardo Chailly, and restoring the warmth and depth for which this great Dutch orchestra has long been revered. When he visited New York with the ensemble in 2006 and 2008, that restoration seemed just about complete.

But an orchestra’s sound is never static, nor is the chemistry between a conductor and his players. When Mr. Jansons brought his orchestra to Carnegie Hall on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, it appeared to be changing still. It sounded so different in each of the three works it performed — the Sibelius Violin Concerto and the Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 on Tuesday, the Mahler Symphony No. 3 on Wednesday — that it was hard at first to get a clear idea of its current state. Not until the Mahler performance was it evident beyond doubt that the orchestra is in magnificent shape.

The Mahler Third, a 100-minute work that demands a huge ensemble (with a mezzo-soprano soloist and boys’ and women’s choirs added to the mix), may be an ideal measure of an orchestra. Mahler meant it as a glorification of existence, beginning with paeans to nature and making its way to an overpowering slow movement, intended as an evocation of heaven. A performance led with the passion, energy and sense of mystical otherworldliness the score demands will inevitably push the musicians to their limits.

Everything about the shape, pacing and grandeur of Mr. Jansons’s account suggested that he and his players took Mahler’s grand design to heart. While individual details may seem beside the point, it was hard not to be awed by the solidity of the horn playing in the expansive, exposed line that introduces the work. And the shapely offstage posthorn solos in the third movement, to say nothing of the solo string and woodwind lines that emerge throughout the score, provided an appealing counterweight to the high-impact full ensemble playing.

The strings, particularly in Mr. Jansons’s plangent reading of the finale, were rich-toned and supple, qualities matched by the remarkably focused woodwind and brass sections. And given Mahler’s penchant for explosive climactic writing (as often in midmovement as in his endings), the ensemble’s percussionists were in their element.

Jill Grove, the mezzo-soprano, singing from behind the violins, brought a smooth, rounded tone to her readings of “O Mensch! Gib acht!” (“Oh Man! Take heed!”) and the solo passages in “Es sungen drei Engel” (“Three angels were singing”), with the American Boychoir and the women of the New York Choral Artists contributing a polished, transparent account of the angels’ chorus.

Mr. Jansons’s Mahler made the Sibelius and Rachmaninoff works on the Tuesday program seem like curtain raisers, although on their own those performances had considerable strengths. The Sibelius was puzzling: though the orchestra’s very first notes — the silvery, pianissimo string shimmer that opens the Violin Concerto — offered great promise, the ensemble seemed almost to disappear self-effacingly behind the soloist, Janine Jansen.

Soloists are always the focus in a concerto, of course, and Ms. Jansen was not playing in a vacuum. But the nuanced orchestral writing in this work is too good to be swept aside, as it was in all but a handful of passages here.

That said, Ms. Jansen wrested enough drama from Sibelius’s violin line to make up for the orchestra’s reticence. She animated the music with a fluid, subtle approach to dynamics and an organic sense of tempo. And she expanded her coloristic palette considerably as the work unfolded, moving seamlessly between sweet-toned lyricism, menacingly dark timbres and a gritty, textured sound that gave the solo line an unusual urgency and even, at times, fierceness. As an encore she collaborated with the orchestra’s concertmaster, Vesko Eschkenazy, on a movement from Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins.

The Rachmaninoff Second is an unwieldy score, rich in ear-catching themes but sprawling even in the best hands. Mr. Jansons, always an eloquent interpreter of Russian music, kept the spotlight on Rachmaninoff’s lyrical inventiveness, but it remained a parade of appealing episodes rather than an exciting whole. The playing was beyond reproach, but even so, it barely hinted at what was to come with Mahler the next night.

Source: NY Times, February 19, 2010

The astronautts in the space capsule circling earth, are spinning an inflatable globe and wherever their finger lands, CBS sends a news crew to explore that part of the world. Last week it was about a family living in India. On Monday, Riga will be featured. Usually this item is featured just before the end  of the telecast at around 6:50 pr so.

More details about CBS Evening News can be found here.

New York Times

January 2, 2010

That Daring Gypsy Strikes Again, and Anew

We all know Bizet’s “Carmen,” or think we do.

Its familiarity is the greatest challenge to any company presenting it. The acclaimed English director Richard Eyre made this point repeatedly in interviews before the opening of his new Metropolitan Opera production of “Carmen.” Without resorting to gratuitous touches and provocative changes to the opera, he said, he wanted to subvert the familiarity so that audiences would leave shocked and awed yet also touched by this 1875 masterpiece.

That is easy to say, but Mr. Eyre, in his Met debut, has actually done it. With this gripping new “Carmen,” the company rang out 2009 on Thursday evening with a solid success, replacing Franco Zeffirelli’s clueless and clunky production of 1996. Other than updating the Seville setting of the opera to the 1930s from the 1830s, to invoke the brutally repressive period of the Spanish Civil War, Mr. Eyre has created an essentially traditional “Carmen.” Yet, by flushing out details that show the characters bucking against civic and sexual constraints, he uncovers the rawness and daring at the opera’s core.

In the naturalness of the performances, from that of the Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca in the title role to those of the children in the chorus who scamper into the town square to watch the changing of the guard, it is clear that Mr. Eyre has lavished attention on everyone. The singers benefited immensely from the work of the rising 34-year-old Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in his Met debut, who led a bracing, fleet and fresh account of the score, although he started the rousing prelude at a breakneck, frenetic tempo.

The production’s success is something of a surprise because the advance buzz had not been encouraging. The Met conceived this as a vehicle for the soprano Angela Gheorghiu, singing the mezzo-soprano title role for the first time, and her husband, the tenor Roberto Alagna, an experienced Don José. But in August Ms. Gheorghiu withdrew from the first six of eight scheduled performances, citing “personal reasons,” which were later revealed to be marital troubles. (She and Mr. Alagna are in the process of divorce.) So the Met brought in Ms. Garanca, best known for her vocally lustrous and agile performances of Rossini. The production provides an ideal context for Ms. Garanca’s nuanced, sexy and cagey portrayal.

The sets and costumes by Rob Howell, in his Met debut, are crucial to the dramatic impact of Mr. Eyre’s concept. During the orchestral prelude, an ominous gray brick wall, sliced through with a blood-red slash, separates to reveal the circular arena that becomes the central scenic element of the staging. The arena’s earthen walls are crumbling in places. Rotating on a turntable, the set suggests, successively, a town square; the tavern where the Gypsies mingle with soldiers; the smugglers’ hideout in the mountains; and the area outside the bullring.

In the opening scene Mr. Eyre uses the set effectively to depict the tensions between the townspeople and the menacing soldiers. A chain-link fence surrounds the arena. On the outside, we see the soldiers in their barracks: bored, playing card games, shaving, reading newspapers. Inside, through the fence, we see the gathering crowd. When the set rotates, the square is revealed, and people stream in. We first see Mr. Alagna’s Don José, an obedient corporal, marching in step with the other solders.

The female choristers who play the Gypsies in a cigarette factory look poignantly real when they first appear (from an underground work area), wearing beige dresses and dusty factory aprons. Only Carmen wears a lacy black dress under her apron. And during the Habanera, when Carmen decides to ensnare the shy and attractive Don José, instead of prancing about the stage doing the typical Carmen dance, Ms. Garanca rinses out her sweaty apron in an open basin in the square, then coyly washes her bare legs.

Ms. Garanca does not have the sort of big, smoldering voice that many opera buffs want in a Carmen. But she sings with rich sound, an unerring feel for the nuance and subtext of a phrase, and alluring sensuality. The clarity in her singing makes this Carmen seem intelligent and wily. A lovely blonde, Ms. Garanca, 33, is captivating in her curly black wig.

Whether Mr. Alagna has made the most of his abundant vocal gifts during his career is a constant topic of discussion in opera circles. And struggling with a cold, he had to skip the final act of the dress rehearsal on Monday. On Thursday he sounded congested at times.

Yet Don José remains one of his strongest roles. The grainy texture of his sound mingles well with the nasal colors of the French language. He sings with an involving blend of intensity and refinement. To his credit, even when under the weather, he tried to sing the climactic B flat in the “Flower Song” pianissimo, as written, something few tenors do. He cracked a little but nearly pulled it off. And he gives himself over to this complex role, conveying the pitiable anguish of the weak-willed Don José, who is overcome with desire for Carmen yet disgusted with himself for abandoning his responsibilities, both to his regiment and to his forgiving mother back home.

The soprano Barbara Frittoli is wonderful as the good-hearted and constant Micaëla, an emissary from Don José’s mother. Her vibrato is sometimes overly throbbing, but the Italianate richness of her voice makes her Micaëla seem a young woman of courage and determination. And she appears achingly vulnerable with her sensible wool coat and brown satchel.

The baritone Mariusz Kwiecien absolutely looks the part of the dashing, cocky toreador Escamillo, a role that straddles the bass-baritone divide. After an uneven “Toreador Song,” music that takes him to the weaker, lower register of his voice, he sang with robust sound and panache. The bass Keith Miller was a standout as the wily officer Zuniga.

The choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has created fetching dances for this production, especially in the tavern scene, in which the Gypsies for once refrain from generic, exotic twirling and do some nifty, rhythmically intricate tapped steps.

But this is Mr. Eyre’s triumph. In only his third opera, he knew what he wanted. I have never seen the final scene, in which the crazed Don José stabs the fatalistically defiant Carmen, executed with such stunning realism, a dangerous mingling of sex, rebellion and violence: the very essence of “Carmen.”

The President of Latvia, H.E. Dr Valdis Zatlers is visiting New York again September 20-25 to participate in the U.N. sponsored Summit on Climate Change, the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting, and the Clinton Global Initiative meeting. During his stay President Zatlers and Mrs. Lilita Zatlere will also visit Yale University and meet with members of New York’s Latvian community. The President will also chair a business roundtable organized by the Consulate of Latvia titled “Emerging from the Crisis” for economists, bankers, fund managers, and the press to discuss recent developments in Latvia and the surrounding Baltic region.

Pictured at here the meeting on Sunday September 20 with the Latvian community in New York are from the left: Hon. Consul for Latvia in New York, Daris G. Delins (holding Matiss Delins), Rev. Laris Salins, Mrs. Lilita Zatlere, H.E. President Dr. Valdis Zatlers, Mrs. Lucine Delins (holding Luna Delins)

The Consulate of Latvia in New York unfortunately cannot issue visas or passports. All of this is done by the Embassy of Latvia in Washington D.C.. For more detailed information, please see the Consular Information section of our website.

U.S. citizens do not require a visa to enter Latvia. If you hold a Schengen Visa, you do not require a visa to enter Latvia. A full list of third countries whose citizens also do not require a visa is available here.

If you are U.S. Green Card holder you will need a Schengen Visa to enter Latvia unless you are a passport holder of a country that does not require a visa. A full list of those countries is listed here.

If you need a Transit Visa for Latvia, you will need to secure that before arriving in Latvia. Transit visas are not issued at Riga Airport. A transit visa can be applied for through the Embassy of Latvia in Washington D.C..

If you need to renew your Latvian passport, then this can only be done through the Embassy of Latvia in Washington. D.C. Further information is available in our Consular Information section.

If you are traveliing to Latvia and wish to enter Latvia with your Latvian passport, please check that the passport is still valid as the Latvian passport regulations have changed. If you have a passport that was issued before July 1, 2002, then you will need to renew your passport. You will not be allowed onto your plane with a Latvian passport which has been issued before July 1, 2002.

If you are traveling to Latvia with a Schengen visa, then your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after entering Latvia.

If your parents or grandparents emigrated from Latvia and you wish to apply for a Latvian passport, the deadline for such applications was in 1995. Any application for a Latvian passport now needs to go through the usual Latvian citizenship application process. Please visit our Consular Information section for more details.

Following on from her outstanding performance in Rossini's "La Cenerentola" ("Cinderella") at the New York’s Metropolitan Opera (the Met) on Friday May 1^st, Latvia’s world-renowned mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča attended a packed reception at the Latvian Consulate in New York on Saturday May 2nd. At the reception co-hosted with the Latvian National Opera Guild, guests were able to meet with the artist, have their photo taken with her and get a signed copy of Elīna’s latest CD recording – Bel Canto – which was released by Deutsche Grammophon on April 28.

Associated Press wrote on Elīna’s performance on May 1st (where she played the lead role of Angelina): „Garanca, who debuted last year in another Rossini opera, "Il Barbiere di Siviglia," has a gorgeous voice that she uses with exceptional skill. Much of Cinderella's music is soft and plaintive, and Garanca sings those phrases with melting tenderness. But when the part calls for coloratura fireworks, as in her final aria, "Non piu mesta," she unleashes impressive technique and ringing high notes. It doesn't hurt that she looks great on stage and conveys a touching sense of vulnerability”. (Garanca and Brownlee shine as Rossini's 'Cinderella' and her prince at Met opera - Mike Silverman, Arts & Living, AP News).

Elīna Garanča will again appear in "La Cenerentola" at the Met on May 6 and May 9. The final performance on May 9, which is the closing event for the 2008-2009 Met Opera Season ,will be transmitted live in HD to movie theaters throughout the country and around the world.

On May 5, 2009, Deutsche Grammophon releases a new recording of Bellini’s “I Capuleti e Montecchi” with Elīna Garanča together with Russian soprano Anna Netrebko.  Netrebko and Garanča just performed in this opera together this spring at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in London.

To read more about Elīna Garanča, please visit www.elinagaranca.com. To learn more about the HD simulcast of the performance on May 9, 2009, please visit www.metopera.org.

Pictured here: mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča and reception host  Daris G. Delins, Honorary Consul for Latvia in New York.

2009.gada 6.jūnijā Latvijā notiks Eiropas Parlamenta vēlēšanas. Eiropas Parlamenta vēlēšanās tiesības piedalīties ir arī tiem Latvijas pilsoņiem, kuri dzīvo ārvalstīs.

Vēlētāji ārvalstīs var piedalīties Eiropas Parlamenta vēlēšanās, balsojot pa pastu. Pieteikties balsošanai pa pastu var līdz 2009.gada 25.aprīlim. Latvijas vēstniecībā ASV (2306 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20008).

Pieteikties balsošanai pa pastu varēs gan personiski, gan nosūtot attiecīgu pieteikumu pa pastu. Pieteikumā vēlētājs norāda savu vārdu, uzvārdu, personas kodu, dzīvesvietas adresi un adresi ārvalstī, uz kuru nosūtāmi balsošanas materiāli (pieteikuma formu skatīt šeit).

Saņemtos pieteikumus pārstāvniecība nosūtīs pasta balsošanas vēlēšanu iecirknim Rīgā. Visiem pasta balsošanai reģistrētajiem vēlētājiem pasta balsošanas vēlēšanu iecirkņa komisija no 2009.gada 8.maija līdz 13.maijam ierakstītā vēstulē no Rīgas izsūtīs balsošanas materiālus uz norādīto adresi ārvalstī.

Līdz 2009. gada 7. maijam pieteikumus balsošanai pa pastu vēlētājs varēs nosūtīt pa pastu vai nodot personīgi arī vēlēšanu iecirknī balsošanai pa pastu – Ārlietu ministrijas Konsulārajā departamentā, Elizabetes ielā 57, Rīgā, Latvijā, LV – 1050.

Vēlētāji, kuri uzturas ārvalstīs, nevar piedalīties Latvijas pašvaldību vēlēšanās, kas notiks vienlaicīgi ar Eiropas Parlamenta vēlēšanām.

Informējam, ka ar papildus informāciju par Eiropas Parlamenta vēlēšanām ir iespējams iepazīties Latvijas Centrālās vēlēšanu komisijas mājas lapā.

Latvijas vēstniecība laipni aicina Jūs jautājumu gadījumā kontaktēties ar vēstniecības Konsulāro nodaļu pa tālruni (202) 328-2840 vai izmantojot e-pastu embassy.usa@mfa.gov.lv.

Latvijas vēstniecība ASV 
www.latvia-usa.org

Latvia’s outstanding tenor, Aleksandrs Antonenko, had his debut performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on Monday March 9^th in Dvorak`s ‘Rusalka’, accompanying the famous American soprano Renée Fleming.

The New York Times wrote of the performance:

“Aleksandrs Antonenko, a Latvian tenor, had a remarkable outing in his Met debut as the Prince. A handsome, virile stage presence, Mr. Antonenko moved with a winning confidence and ease. His ardent lyricism and powerful sound marked him as a performer of considerable promise.”

Aleksandrs Antoņenko is scheduled to perform in Rusalka on March 14, 17 and 21.

For further details of the upcoming performance, please visit The Met Opera website.

For more details about Aleksandrs Antonenko read here.

On January 26, 2009 at the Embassy of Latvia Ambassador Andrejs Pildegovics hosted a reception in honor of the 88th anniversary of Latvia's "de jure" recognition and the unveiling of a portrait gallery of Latvia's former Amdassadors. The portrait gallery contains photographs of all heads of Latvia's Missions to the United States since 1922, the year the United States officially recognized the Republic of Latvia.

During the event Ambassador Andrejs Pildegovics presented awards of recognition from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia Maris Riektins to Daina Block, Principal of the Washington DC area Latvian school; Daris Delins, Latvia's Honorary Consul in New York, and Edgars Trumpkalms, 1st Secretary at the Embassy of Latvia.

By Patrick Kevin Day

December 22, 2008

"Defenders of Riga," a post- World War I drama on a large scale, is Latvia's submission for this year's best foreign film Oscar. It's the biggest film to be released in the Baltic nation, surpassing "Titanic," the previous record holder, at the box office.

The film tells the story of the crucial battle for Latvian independence that took place against the Germans and Russians on Nov. 11, 1919. But how did an American actress (and one-time Golden Globe and BAFTA nominee) get involved with the film to the degree that she was credited with her first co-screenplay and co-producing credit?

Lisa Eichhorn, who got her start opposite Richard Gere in the 1979 movie "Yanks," explains:

Q: How did you go from acting to producing Latvia's biggest film?

A: In 2003 I moved back to England from New York City. I had decided I wanted to write and produce and I had an idea for a series. About a year later, I was asked to go to Latvia by a colleague to see how easy it would be to film some Western films there. I wasn't working at the time in acting. I had taken time off from my script. In so doing, I met a lot of the producers and directors and a few of the actors. I was invited back in May 2004, to work with the actors on "Defenders of Riga."

Their story precedes me by two years. They had a script and it was a story of obvious national importance to them. [Co-producer and co-writer] Andrejs Ekis had shot 30 % of the film and he asked me to look at what he had so far. He asked me to tell him what I thought and be brutally honest. I told him the shortcomings I felt the film had and they were many. He said, "I don't care how long it takes, this is a very important movie for me, for Latvia, how would you fix it?" I told him what I would do and I left. I was called to Latvia five months later to work with the actors who were on the film. I was hired as a method coach.

The largest and most glaring shortcoming in the footage I saw was that the actors didn't talk to each other. There was no depth. And a couple of the leading actors weren't even getting along. They asked me if I could fix that. We worked and made great progress.

Latvia had a very vibrant film industry during the Soviets' time, but when the Soviets left, everything fell apart. The skills that were a natural part of the system -- designers, cameramen, film acting -- all got lost in the subsequent 10 or 12 years. There were actors acting in a film who had no idea how to film-act.

Q: How long were they filming?

They started in 2003 ,and then they took a break and tried to address their problems. I came on board, and they still had difficulty. It was the most amazing thing. One of the things I said to Andrejs in 2005 [when we were still shooting] was that in Los Angeles you would never be able to start something over to get it right. You would probably never get another opportunity. There was a lot of money riding on it. I think it's the most expensive movie ever made in Latvia ($2.4 million). We were absolutely determined to make a movie that people would want to see. Over 300,000 Latvians have seen the movie in a country of 2.3 million people.

Q: We know what the pressures would be like making the most expensive movie in Hollywood. What were the pressures like making the most expensive movie in Latvia?

There was a group of people who were very fearful that the movie would never get made and that all the money would be lost and all the people who had an emotional need to tell the story would be lost. Whoever could mount that again having had such a failure? On the other side, there was Ekis and his fervent belief that he would make the movie. But he was using the movie as a learning tool. He was really learning on his feet. The thing about making a film in Latvia is, during Soviet time, if a movie took six months, if somebody had to go away to work at the Moscow Theatre and return six months later, that was OK. Time is just a totally different thing in Latvia. In terms of pressure, there are no unions so an actor could be called at 6 a.m. and not be used until 10 p.m. and go home at 2 a.m., but be asked to come back at 6 a.m. There's no structure as there is in the U.S. in terms of SAG or teamster rules or normal limits of human endurance. If everybody is available, they get together and shoot like mad. I think that's why the film took so long. It wasn't just the steep learning curve, but also the availability of the actors.

Q: Did you try to impose order or did you adapt to their method of filmmaking?

What I told them, and I was very firm, I came at it from the actors' point of view. I told them they were responsible for everything they could do to make their characters better. The director had only done one film. It was a popular film, but he was also learning on the job. You have to know who your characters are. If you admire anything in Western film, that's your homework. If your costume needs to have a pocket and six buttons you have to make sure they've got it because at the moment there's no agency, no departmental structure. If your character needs brown gloves, you have to make sure you've got them.

The soldiers were coming back from war and every single actor's costume was brand new. That's a kind of fundamental example. I have to say, when I first came, they mistrusted me and they weren't sure about my ability to help them. They came to trust me over the next 18 months or two years. They learned I didn't come to take something away from them.

Q: Did you know anything about Latvian culture going into this?

I had never been to Latvia. I have no Latvian relatives. I had no Latvian friends at that time. But I have a willingness to travel. It's absolutely astounding when you speak to someone about good acting, no matter the language, and they demonstrate it to you, they can see the difference. I think that's the amazing thing about film -- it transcends language.

Q: Did the actors teach you anything?

A: The older actors, who had lived through Soviet times and worked in Soviet films, were the most mistrustful to begin with. But they came around gangbusters with alacrity and joy. They got what I was trying to help them with.

Q: Did you feel overwhelmed producing your first film at this scale?

No. I believe if we're lucky, we take the opportunities that are offered. Sometimes as you get older as an actor, the gifts and skills and knowledge that you have aren't necessarily required. Everybody knows how the business works. And here were people who needed my expertise. I was like this big well that was an unending source. I had this experience, this career, time. I guess maybe I'm a workhorse or I love the challenge.

Q: Were you happy with your acting roles at this time?

No. As an actor, I love to act. I was always taught the story was the thing. I've had a very peripatetic career. I've lived in Los Angeles and London and New York and back and forth between all of them a couple of times. I think that I used to think if I got a job somewhere, I had to move there. That didn't help people to know where I was.

I think it was a common feeling for me that I had failed in some way early on in my career. I think I had come to terms with the fact that I'd had this colossally large beginning. I didn't have the education or emotional equipment to understand the business of show business. In my 30s and 40s I had to mourn my own lack of understanding. I had to let go and forgive myself. One reviewer said I didn't live up to my early promise. But how did he know what my early promise was?

I think if you fall away from the main stage or if you suddenly find yourself doing different kinds of parts -- I've always been grateful for every part I've been given. Did I wish I'd been re-remembered on the scale I began with? Yeah, I probably did. I think that was for all the wrong reasons. I think I wanted to show that person who said I didn't live up to my early promise that I wasn't a failure. But that's like living in the present with one foot in the past. When I have an opportunity to act, I am grateful. I have lots of acting left inside of me.

I used to not know who I was when I wasn't playing a character. Now I think I'm comfortable being myself and a character. I had to learn to accept all of myself and not look back.

Now I look forward to directing my first film and getting my first script off the ground. When your attitude changes, your life changes.

Q: Have you been back to Latvia since the film opened? Have you experienced its success in person?

No, but I don't need to go there to see it to know that it is and that it was. I feel very grateful to have been in the right place at the right time. It was as much a gift for me as it was a gift for them. A lot of people in my shoes wouldn't care. The gift to me is that they've allowed me to express another part of my artistic self. I'm really grateful to them for that. 

See LA Times for full article

November 18, 2008

Dear Friends,

It is a pleasure to welcome everyone to the independence celebrations hosted by the Latvian Consulate in New York City.

Shortly after the First World War, Latvian men and women declared their nation’s independence from Russian and Bolshevik rule.  Here in New York, our City’s Latvian community was already growing by leaps and bounds; families had been immigrating to the Big Apple since the turn of the 20^th century, and their contributions to our economic, cultural, and civic life had already begun to have a significant impact on our great City.  Today, that impact remains stronger than ever, and I am proud to join everyone gathered at this National Day celebration to recognize the committed hard work and indomitable spirit of our City’s Latvian community.

On behalf of the City of New York, I commend Honorary Consul Daris G. Delins and everyone involved with today’s celebration for sharing Latvian history and culture with all New Yorkers. Please accept my best wished for an enjoyable celebration and continued success.

Sincerely,

Michael R. Bloomberg

Mayor

The City of New York, Office of the Mayor, New York, NY 10007

Seen here from the right, Mayor Michael R Bloomberg, Daris G. Delins, Honorary Consul for Latvia in New York, and Marjorie B Tiven, Commissioner, Office of the Mayor, Commission for the UN, Consular Corps and Protocol, at Gracie Mansion, New York City, October 22, 2008

To see the full article/note, please download here

On October 25 and 26, "Defenders of Riga" screened at the 23rd annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. The film was seen by close to 200 festival attendees. Attending at the premiere screenings, seen here in the picture were from the left, Daris G. Delins, Hon. Consul for Latvia in New York, the film's director Aigars Grauba, the film's producer Andrejs Ekis, and Barry Mowell, Hon. Consul for Latvia in Florida.

The film will next screen at the AFI European Film Showcase in Silver Spring, Maryland on November 16 and 18, 2008 http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplaying/EUshowcase/riga.aspx. Further screenings of the film are planned for Los Angeles, California.

Between November 11 and November 18, 2008 the film will be screened at over 200 locations in Latvia as part of Latvia's 90th Anniversary National Day celebrations.

By the end of 2008, the film will have been seen by close to 300,000 people around the world, cementing its position as Latvia's most successful film release ever.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on October 17 that "Defenders of Riga" (Rīgas sargi) has been nominated as Latvia's official entry in the Foreign Language Film category for the 81st Academy Awards® (www.oscars.org).

Released in November 2007, "Defenders of Riga" is not only the most ambitious feature-length production in the history of Latvian cinema but also the highest grossing box office film to be released in Latvia, seen already by close to 300,000 viewers.  To date in 2008, the film has been seen by over 2,000 viewers in the U.S.

On October 25 and 26 the film will premiere at the 2008 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (www.fliff.com) and on November 16 and 18 it will premiere at the 2008 AFI European Film Showcase in Silver Spring, Maryland http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplaying/EUshowcase/riga.aspx.

Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

On Friday, October 17 President George W. Bush invited ambassadors of the 13 candidate countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, South Korea, Greece, Cyprus and Malta) of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to a White House ceremony to announce the US Administration’s decision to admit seven of these 13 countries to the Visa Waiver Program. Latvia was represented by Ambassador Andrejs Pildegovics (see here in the picture being congratulated by President George W.Bush).

President Bush officially announced the addition of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and South Korea to the Visa Waiver Program. Most likely in approximately one month, travelers from these countries will no longer require a visa to enter the United States.

The program currently includes 27 countries. The President stated that the seven countries agreed to share information about security threats to the U.S. and that their citizens would use a new system that requires travelers to register online ahead of their visits to the United States.

President Bush emphasized that Latvia and the other 6 countries have fulfilled all requirements related to admission into the US VWP. Admission to the VWP will open new possibilities for interpersonal contacts, tourism and business development. The removal of US visa requirements is yet another example of the dynamic development of the Latvia-US strategic partnership.

Latvia’s admission to the VWP was due to the successful cooperation with the National Security Council, the US Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, Congress, and various research institutes. The American Latvian Association has also played a significant role for Latvia to reach this goal.

Link to President George W. Bush's White House announcement

On March 12, 2008 in Riga, Maris Riekstins, Acting Minister for the Interior, and Michael Chertoff, US Secretary of Homeland Security, signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia and the Department of Homeland Security of US regarding the US Visa Waiver Program and related enhanced security measures.

Latvia has now fulfilled all of the technical requirements regarding the VWP.

12.03.08	Maija Kovalevska performs at the Met Season 2008-2009   Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska, winner of the 2006 Domingo Operalia competition, returns to the Metropolitain Opera this season in the role of Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme. In Franco Zeffirelli’s production of the Puccini favorite, Maija Kovalevska sings the consumptive heroine, and Ramón Vargas and Massimo Giordano share the role of her poet-lover, with Mariusz Kwiecien as Marcello, in what may be the world’s most popular opera.   Maija Kovalevska is scheduled to appear on December 15, 18, 22, 26 and 29 and January 3, 6, and 10.   For further details visit: MetOpera   For more information on Maija Kovalevska, please visit her website or IMG Artists
12.07.08	Mariss Jansons to perform at Carnegie Hall - March 13, 14 and 15, 2009 World renowned Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons returns to New York Carnegie Hall on March 13, 14 and 15, 2009 to conduct the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.   March 13, 2009: Jorg Widmann, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky.   March 14, 2009: Hadyn and Beethoven (with Ricarda Merbeth, Soprano, Michelle Breedt, Mezzo-Soprano, Michael Schade, Michael Volle, Bass, and the Westminster Symphonic Choir).   March 15, 2009: Shchedrin, Prokofiev, and Brahms   For further programme details and ticketing, visit Carnegie Hall.
12.07.08	Elīna Garanča returns to the Met Opera in May 2009   Latvia's world-renowned mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča returns to the Met Opera in May 2009.   Hot on the heels of her triumphant Met debut as Rosina in last season’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Elina Garanca portrays another Rossini charmer in this bel canto Cinderella story. Lawrence Brownlee is her Prince Charming. Veteran baritone Alessandro Corbelli demonstrates his impeccable comic timing to match the gravitas of Met favorite John Relye   Elina Garanca is scheduled to perform on May 1, 6 and 9, 2009.   For ticketing information please visit MetOpera.   For more information on Elina Garanca visit her website.
1.12.09	Visit Latvia at the 2009 New York Times Travel Show - February 6-8, 2009 Latvia will again be on show at the 2009 New York Times Travel Show.    Come and learn about Latvia's exciting tourism locations and opportunities. Visit Latvia as a destination or visit Latvia as part of your next trip to Europe.   You will find Latvia at booth #376, "Welcome to the Baltics: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania".   Show hours are: Friday, February 6, 2pm-7pm (trade only) Saturday, February 7, 10am-6pm Sunday, February 8, 10am-4pm   Literature and other promotional materials will be available for distribution. There will also be Baltic cultural exhibits.   The NYT Travel Show runs February 6 to 8, 2009 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.   For further details about the show and visiting times, please visit: www.nyttravelshow.com
3.12.09	Aleksandrs Antonenko to perform at special benefit concert - Monday, March 16, 2009   Latvian tenor and opera singer Aleksandrs Antonenko, currently starting in 'Rusalka' at The Met, will perform in a special benefit concert in New York on Monday March 16 at 7pm with pianist Reinis Zarins.   Monday, March 16 at 7pm.   Latvian Lutheran Church, 254 Valentine Lane, Yonkers, NY.   The programme will include selected opera pieces and works by Latvian composers.   After the performance there will be a reception with the performers.   Entry: donations starting at $50.00, students: $25.00, children free. Donations of $100 or more will have their name in the sponsors list.   Checks payable to “Latvian National Opera Guild” and can be sent to Juris Padegs, 22 Minturn Street, Hastings un Hudson, NY 10706-1133.    More information: J. Padegs 914-478-0134 or A. Pelše 516-319-9491     To read more about Aleksandrs Antonenko, please click here.
4.07.09	Meet renowned Latvian opera singer Elīna Garanča - Saturday, May 2nd, 2009   The Consulate of Latvia in New York together with the Latvian National Opera Guild (LNOG) is honored to be hosting a reception for Latvia’s renowned opera singer, Elīna Garanča.   Described by the UK’s ‘The Independent’ newspaper as having a voice as „one of a million”, Elīna Garanča is perfoming again this season in New York at the Metropolitan Opera in Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella) on May 1, 6, and 9.   At the reception on Saturday May 2nd, Ms. Garanča will be signing copies of her newly released CD, Bel Canto. Released by Deutsche Grammophon in April, on this disc Latvia’s famous vocalist performs some of her most favorite bel canto masterpieces – both popular hits and lesser-known arias from earlier 18th century Italian operas (Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini).   Proceeds from the reception will assist the LNOG’s work to support the Latvian National Opera.   When:  Saturday, May 2nd, 2009, 5 pm to 6:30 pm   Where:  Consulate of Latvia in New York, 155 Perry Street, Suite 1B New York, NY 10014. Tel: 1-646-230-0590. (in the West Village; nearest cross street is Perry & Washington)   Parking: parking garages can be found on the corner of Perry and Greenwich Streets and on the corner of Charles & Washington Streets. Subway: on the 1 line, nearest stop is Christopher/Sheridan Square or 14th Street on the 1, 2 and 3 lines   RSVP:  By Monday, April 27 if you will attend. Email: info@latvia-newyork.org or tel 1-646-230-0590.   Donations: $30 per person (includes a signed CD). Checks made payable to ‘Latvian National Opera Guild’.
5.25.09	"Songs cross the oceans and link businesses" - joint concert: RTU Riga Business School Choir & Japanese Choral Society of New York - Thursday, June 25, at 7:30 pm   The Consulate of Latvia in New York invites you to a unique concert featuring two outstanding and unique „business” choirs – one from Riga, Latvia, the other from New York’s Japanese business community.   The RTU Riga Business School Choir, under Conductor Einārs Verro, brings together more than 40 successful business professionals. The majority of singers are middle and top level managers, entrepreneurs and company owners. At the same time most of the singers bring significant choral experience which has helped the Choir to reach its high level of performance. (see www.rbs.lv for more information about RBS).   The New York Men's Choir (NYMC) is an amateur choral group consists of Japanese businessmen work in NY. It is a successor of The NY Men's Glee Club, which was originally founded in 1991. In 2004, it evolved once again, welcoming women’s voices to become both men’s and mixed chorus, forming Japanese Choral Society of New York (JCSNY) with Kousuke Iwasaki as the current conductor. Some highlights include singing the National Anthem at NY Yankees Stadium in 2004 and its performance at Carnegie Hall in 2005. A documentary film about the choir, 'Shall We Sing?' by Ms. Higashitani, won several awards in 2008 and was broadcasted nationwide on PBS network. (see www.nymc.net for more information about the Choir).   Both choirs will perform selections from their native repertoires. Come, enjoy, and let’s connect !   When:   Thursday, June 25th, 2009, at 7:30 pm   Where:  Immanuel Lutheran Church122 East 88 Street · New York, NY 10128 (corner of Lexington Avene and 88th Street) Directions: Immanuel is located at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 88th Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side, convenient from the M101, M102, and M86 bus lines and by Subway, #4, #5, and #6 line, 86th Street stop.   Tickets:  $10 adults; $7 children (tickets at the door).
12.13.09	Elīna Garanča returns to the Met as Carmen - December 2009 and January 2010   Following on from her outstanding performance in Rossini's "La Cenerentola" ("Cinderella") in May 2009, Latvia’s world-renowned mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča returns to the New York’s Metropolitan Opera (the Met) in December 2009 and January 2010 to play Carmen in George Bizet’s “Carmen”.   "Carmen is about sex, violence, and racism—and its corollary: freedom,” says Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre. “It is one of the inalienably great works of art. It’s sexy, in every sense. And I think it should be shocking.”   Elīna Garanča will be appearing in this role on December 31 (New Year's Eve Gala), January 5, 8, 12, 16, and 21 (2010). Her performance in Carmen on January 16 will also be will be transmitted live in HD to movie theaters throughout the United States (and repeated on February 3, 2010). Audiences outside the United States will also be able to see this HD screening.   To learn more about Elīna Garančas appearances at the Met and these HD screening dates and venues please visit www.metopera.org   Elīna Garanča was the ECHO Klassik 2009 Award - Singer of the Year - for the solo CD "Bel Canto" - awarded by the Deutsche Phono-Akademie (Germany)   Following her starring role in Carmen at London’s Convent Garden in October 2009, the UK press noted:   “Singing Carmen for the first time in the UK, Elina Garanca immediately surprised us by her physical appearance; dark-haired, tanned and sweaty. Fears about how her Baltic precision and coolness would cope portraying the sultry Spanish gypsy melted as she smouldered from the off, teasing and pouting her way through Act I, doing extremely suggestive things up her skirt with the flower in the Habanera before flinging it with precision at José... She has a truly beautiful voice...” - Mark Pullinger – Opera Britannia, October 5, 2009.   “One-woman show... Matching Garanca is no easy task... The Latvian mezzo is naturally blonde, but her Carmen wig suits her. Arms and legs akimbo, skirts lifted dangerously high, she exudes a hair-trigger sexuality that is balanced by mischievous wit. Her voice is in superb shape, light and sensuous but with ample power to ride over the orchestra...the precision of her singing and of her acting makes every detail clear. There are moments when this Carmen becomes a one-woman show; but what a woman” – Nick Kimberly – London Evening Standard, October 6, 2009.   “Elina Garanca is a revelation in the role of Carmen...” - Jim Pritchard (MusicWeb International's Worldwide Concert and Opera Reviews) October 6, 2009   To read more about Elīna Garanča, please visit www.elinagaranca.com.
12.16.09	Soprano Maija Kovalevska returns to the Met in January 2010 Renowned Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska  returns to the New York’s Metropolitan Opera (the Met) in January 2010 to play Micaela in George Bizet’s “Carmen”.   "Carmen is about sex, violence, and racism—and its corollary: freedom,” says Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre. “It is one of the inalienably great works of art. It’s sexy, in every sense. And I think it should be shocking.”   Maija Kovalevska will be appearing in her role on January 30, February 1, 5, 9, 13, April 28 and May 1 2010. To learn more about Maija Kovalevska’s appearances at the Met please visit www.metopera.org .   To read more about Maija Kovalevska please visit her website www.maija-kovalevska.com
12.20.09	Mariss Jansons returns to Carnegie Hall - February 16 and 17, 2010 World renowned Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons returns to New York's Carnegie Hall on February 16 and 17, 2010 to conduct the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.   February 16, 2010:  SIBELIUS, Violin Concerto; RACHMANINOFF, Symphony No. 2 in E Minor (with Janine Jansen, Violin).   February 17, 2010: MAHLER, Symphony No. 3 (with Jill Grove, Mezzo-Soprano, New York Choral Artists, The American Boychoir). For further programme details and ticketing, visit Carnegie Hall.
2.09.10	RIGA - business briefing and investment seminar - March 1, 2010 The Consulate of Latvia in New York and Embassy of Latvia in Washington D.C. invite you to attend a special breakfast seminar focused on Riga, Latvia’s capital city.   Learn more about the business opportunities Riga offers as a key starting point for tourism, investment, finance, trade and logistics in the Baltics, Northern Europe and surrounding region. Hear the latest about the outlook for Riga and the Baltics in 2010   Keynote speakers will include:   Ainars Slesers – Deputy Chairman of the Riga City Council & Chairman of the Board of the Freeport of Riga ( www.riga.lv and www.freeportofriga.lv )   Bertolt Flick - President and CEO, Air Baltic ( www.airbaltic.com )   Nils Melngailis – Chairman of the Board, Parex Bank ( www.parex.lv )   When:   Monday, March 1st, 2010, 8:00 am - 9:30 am (registration begins at 7:45 am) Where:   Harvard Club of New York, 35 West 44th Street, between 5th and 6th Ave, New York, NY 10036 (www.hcny.com) How to attend:   please email (info @ latvia-newyork . org) including your name, title, company name, tel number, and your area of interest in Latvia/Riga. You will be sent an invitation and registration confirmation number. Registration closes 2/24.
2.09.10	Visit Riga and the Baltics at the 2010 New York Times Travel Show   The 2010 New York Times Travel Show is New York's premiere travel event. A must for anyone plannning a vacation this year.   Get to know more about Riga, Latvia and the Baltics at the Travel Show this year. Learn about Live Riga !   Attending on Saturday 2/27 at 12:00 pm at the Latvian exhibition will be Ainars Slesers, Deputy Chairman of Riga City Council and Bertolt Flick, Chairman and CEO of Air Baltic. On Sunday 2/28, at 2-3:30 pm, there will be a special presentations featuring Latvia.   For more information on the NY Times Travel Show click here.   For more information about Riga, click here.   For more information about Air Baltic, click here.   If you are a travel professional and wish to receive an invitation to the event on Saturday, please contact us by email: info  @  latvia-newyork  . org. Include your name, title, company name, and tel number.
5.12.10	Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir to perform in New York - May 30, June 1 & 2, 2010 Described by the press as "comparable to the Vienna Choir Boys," the Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir will be visiting the U.S. again this year and giving performances in New York on May 30, June 1 and 2.   The Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir was founded in 1950. Choir members are trained at the Riga Dom Choir School and sing regularly at church services and classical music concerts held in the Riga Dom Cathedral.   The Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir has a repertoire ranging from Bach to Britten. Their programs frequently incorporate modern arrangements of folk songs and gems from the 17th and 18th centuries, and they are as adept singing a cappella as they are with piano or organ accompaniment. The choir has performed in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Finland, Russia, Canada and the United States. They made 50 appearances in Benjamin Britten's children's opera, Little Sweep, when it was produced by the Latvian National Opera, and they have recorded seven CDs.   The President of the United States , the Presidents of Finland , Ukraine , Uzbekistan and Turkey , H. R .H. Prince Charles and HM Elizabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom, participants of NATO summit (2006) have all enjoyed performances by the Choir in Riga.   New York performance details: Sunday, May 30th,  4:00 pm - Latvian Community Center, Catskills, Elka Park, NY  Tuesday, June 1st, 1:10 pm - Quaker Ridge School, 125 Weaver St. Scardsale, NY Wednesday, June 2nd, 1:00 - Trinity Church, Broadway at Wall St. New York NY  Wednesday, June 2nd, 7:30pm - Church of the Heavenly Rest,  2 East 90th St. (at 5th Ave.)   New York, NY (admission by free will offering).   For more information aboout the above events please contact Mr. Andrejs Jansons: Tel 201 944 1273; e-mail jansonsa@gmail.com
7.23.10	Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca to perform at Carnegie Hall on October 25, 2010 World renowned Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča will be returning to New York to perform in Massenet’s opera  „La Navaraise” at Carnegie Hall at 7:30pm on Monday October 25, 2010.   This special event is being hosted by the Opera Orchestra of New York (visit www.oony.org for more details ).Also apprearing in this opera will be Roberto Alagna and Brian Kontes.   The same evening, Maria Guleghina, Krysty Swann and Mignon Dunn will appear in a performance of Mascagni’s  “Cavalleria Rusticana”.   Tickets are limited for this special double-bill opera event. Please e-mail us as soon as possible at: info@latvia-newyork.org if you are interested in attending. The performance will sell out fast. Ticket prices are $60 and via OONY we are fortunate to been able to secure a limited number of seats.