Lāčplēsis (rock opera)

The rock opera Lāčplēsis is a Latvian musical based on the Latvian national epic Lāčplēsis. The libretto was written in 1986/87 by Māra Zālīte, with music composed by Zigmārs Liepiņš. It premiered in Riga on 23 August 1988. According to Māra Zālīte's homepage there were 43 shows, each attended by 4,000 people.

Lāčplēsis was first shown at the beginning of the Third Latvian National Awakening. It has clear anti-Soviet undertones and it inspired the rising independence movements in Latvia.

Unlike in the original poem, Kangars and Lāčplēsis are the best of friends. They are both heroes, they both have weaknesses, but Kangars' is easily noticeable: he is very ambitious. The rock opera mostly deals with Kangars' being blinded by the desire for fame, unaware of his betrayal until he reveals Lāčplēsis' weakness to the foreign invaders. Kangars is contrasted to Koknesis, who refuses even to think of betrayal. Laimdota and Lāčplēsis are characterised as symbols of Latvia and the Latvian people in many ways: Laimdota appears to represent Latvia herself, while Lāčplēsis stands for the people of Latvia. The villains are the crusaders, represented by their leader Dīterihs, aided by devils and informers.

Lāčplēsis and Kangars are sent to study at Burtnieki. On the way they visit Aizkraukle Castle where Kangars is taken captive and tortured by devils, asking him to betray his people by drawing them into slavery and establishing Christianity. When he refuses, the torture is interrupted by the head devil Līkcepure who brainwashes him by saying that Kangars would win all fame if Lāčplēsis were not standing in his way.

Meanwhile Lāčplēsis is dropped into the Daugava by two witches, but is saved by Staburadze, who tells him that this is his first death. He is supposed to die and come back to life three times, and go through three periods of transition from oppression to freedom. When he asks if he is dead, he is told that he is alive as long as he remembers Staburadze, sunken castles, flying lakes and who he is: he has been nursed by all Latvian mothers and his soul is made from the souls of all Latvians. Then Koknesis appears, telling Lāčplēsis to build a homeland for Latvians, and promises to supply him with wood. Afterwards, at Burtnieki, Lāčplēsis flirts with Laimdota; together they listen to songs of Burtnieki castle and Laimdota sings a prayer to Saule, the sun deity. After listening to her, Lāčplēsis tells Laimdota that through this song he hears his motherland even louder than before and raises the sunken castle of Burtnieki. The devils try to stop him, saying that his nation has no history, only old wives' tales, but he succeeds and is engaged to Laimdota, who is the very soul of Latvia.

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Wikipedia