Place of birth: Riga, Latvia
World famous artists come from the “Paris of the North”
The Latvian capital Riga is rich in culture and cultural celebrities. Despite its manageable size the city has given birth to a huge number of personalities in recent decades and centuries who came to worldwide fame through outstanding careers.
One of the most famous people from Riga is obviously the film director Sergej Eisenstein (1898-1948). His revolution movies “The Battleship Potemkin” (1925) and “October: Ten days that shook the world” (1928) are his most famous works, but also the 1940s/1950s movies about Ivan IV of Russia (Ivan the Terrible) are important works in movie history.
Further the renowned conductor Andris Nelsons was born and grew up in Riga. He is currently the musical director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and is among the five most inquired conductors in the world. He is also designated musical director of the popular Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig in 2018.
Another Riga born celebrity is the ballet dancer and choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov. He became known to a broad public as an actor in the US-series “Sex and the City” playing the Russian artist Alexandr Petrovsky.
Some other personalities from Riga came back to their birth city during the European Capital of Culture Year 2014 to be part of a very special concert: “Born in Riga” was the evening’s theme that gathered world famous artists on an open air stage in the heart of Riga. Among them were the opera singers Aleksandr Antonenko, Maija Kovalevska and Inese Galante, the violist Baiba Skride, composer Raimonds Pauls and others. The result was a top class concert featuring world famous artists and an amazingly varied program. The concert in full lengths can be watched again here:
Riga, the city of culture is always worth a visit. In 2017 it will be host of the Grand Prix of Nations & 3rd European Choir Games Riga 2017 from July 16-23. More information about participation and registration can be found here.
