By Hans Christian Andersen
Adapted and scored by Canadian composer Patrick Cardy
Translated into Latvian by the ensemble together with Anita Bajāre
Patrick Cardy's The Snow Queen is an extraordinary work: intended for children, it combines a solo actor with a string quartet. This was my last production for the New Riga Theatre. I made two versions, each performed by an award-winning actor, one male - Gundars Āboliņš; one female - Baiba Broka. The solo actor performed all parts in the story, interacting with a string quartet and evocative projections. The all-female string quartet Diference played throughout, sometimes turning into roses, robbers, or bulldogs. The designers were Ieva Kauliņa and Ineta Stepanova.
The Snow Queen premiered at the New Riga Theatre on December 12, 2007, and ran for several seasons.
”Baņuta Rubess has been so very ”old-fashioned”, that in her production of the Snow Queen her style goes ”no further” than centuries-old discoveries – elements of shadow theatre, the Narrator’s exciting story and the audience, which generously surrender themselves to the power of the actor’s and their own imaginations. Nevertheless it’s precisely this ”old-fashioned” style that makes us want to say thank you to the director... B.Rubess‘ production is honest and that’s important. Everything in this story about the order of the world, about the way that love is stronger than the magic potions of an old Sami, comes at the right place and time. The children feel that and reward the performance with their rapt attention.” Undīne Adamaite, Diena
