Mariss Vetra

Mariss Vētra (19 July 1901 – 24 December 1965) was a Latvian opera singer, stage director, educator, and writer.

Mariss Vētra (known as Morics Blumbergs till 1922) was born on 19 July 1901, at Dārta Estate of Tirza Civic Parish in the present-day Republic of Latvia (in 1901 a part of the Russian Empire) in a farmers' family. His father Jēkabs Blumbergs hired the estate from the local baron Alfred von Zeimern. His mother Emma Blumberga, née Perlbach, brought up four children. After 1906, the family lived in Rīga.

He studied at the Alexander Classical School of Riga, which during World War 1 was evacuated to Dorpat (now Tartu, Estonia); later at the 2nd Classical School of Riga, from which he graduated in 1919. During his studies he worked as a clerk at the Statistics Bureau, and this enabled him to save his Mother from being shot in early 1919, at the time of the temporary soviet government of Pēteris Stučka.

In June 1919, he volunteered to join the newly developing Latvian Army and took part in the Liberty fights. In September 1919, as a soldier, he was admitted to the recently formed Conservatoire of Latvia. In October 1919, both German and Russian troops were approaching Rīga and, also, his regiment fought its first Liberty battles. Morics was wounded near Babīte.

The Conservatoire of Latvia was opened in January 1920, and Morics Blumbergs began his studies with Professor Pauls Sakss. At the same time he entered the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the University of Latvia; however, for lack of time, he did not study there, although he audited some lectures. To earn his living, he worked at the Board of Railway. In 1921, he gave a concert in Liepāja.

In 1922, Morics Blumbergs urged his family to change their surname, and along with his mother Emma, his brother Nikolajs (a medical student, later a lecturer of LU, one of the founders of the Baltic University), his sisters Austra (later a chemist) and Maiga (later an architect) became Vētra, changing his name to Mariss Vētra.

During his studies, in September 1922, Mariss Vētra became the premier of the recently founded opera of Liepāja, until the Spring of 1923 singing with success in more than 70 performances. The Latvian National Opera took interest in him and invited him to give guest performances. In May 1923, he gave a guest performance as Don Jose in the opera "Carmen". Since the Autumn of 1923, he was already a full-fledged soloist of the National Opera.

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