ARĒNA 2026
From 27 October to 13 November, the ARĒNA New Music Festival will take place in Riga for the 25th time, presenting five concerts in which light meets darkness, faith encounters fear, prophecies intertwine with myths, and silence, electronics and sounds yet unheard come together. The festival will open with the Pēteris Vasks Quartet, performing music by Pēteris Vasks, Arvo Pärt and Olivier Messiaen, and will culminate in one of ARĒNA’s most ambitious events – the premiere of The Abduction of Europa, a chamber opera by Gundega Šmite and Dimitris Maronidis. Another highlight will be two world premieres at the concert Prophecies – new works by Klaus Lang and Santa Bušs. This autumn also marks a new chapter in the festival’s history for composer Santa Bušs, who joins ARĒNA as its new Artistic Director.
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