RIGA - For the past three weeks, virtually every woman in Latvia has watched her husband and his rowdy friends turn the living room into a beer-guzzling, furniture-straining, goal-cheering, testosterone-charged hockey fest.
But now it's their turn. With the world hockey championships over, women can leave the men at home and take the kids out to enjoy a whimsical afternoon of figure skating magic.
Hans Christian Anderson's magical tale "Sniega Karaliene" (Snow Queen) will come to life on ice on May 20 at the Siemens Ledus Halle (Siemens Ice Hall). And you don't have to be a child to fall into this world of fantasy. In a whirlwind of sparkling costumes, beautiful music and mesmerizing dance, the performance should have everyone spell bound.
The show is choreographed by the Riga Ballet School teacher and former Latvian National Opera soloist Aleksandrs Kolbins and directed by Marite Smaukstele. Playing the role of the Snow Queen is recurrent Latvian figure skating champion Anna Dubova. With talent such as hers, it would seem impossible to enhance Dubova's elegance and grace on ice. Yet the elegant silver gown she wears as the queen of frost manages to do so.
Dubova isn't the only professional skater in the show. The 2003 Latvian championship winners Olga Boguslavskaja and Andrejs Brovenko will also awe crowds with their skating talent. These three internationally recognized athletes will also be accompanied by some 30 children ranging from ages 7-14 from Latvijas Slidosanas Asociacijas Sporta Klubs (Latvia's Skating Association Sports Club). Despite the fact that these amateurs are still years away from mastering the sport, no Hans Christian Anderson story would be the same without child-sized pixies floating about.
"Snow Queen" is as enjoyable for the ears as it is for the eyes. Renowned Latvian composer Valdis Zilvenis provides the soul and inspiration for each skater's leap, spin and glide. His music is dynamic enough to send chills through the arena when the Snow Queen floats across the ice and enflame the crowd with fear at the villain's alarming presence.
There could not be a more fitting stage for this classic winter tale nor a more beautiful portrayal of Anderson's "Snow Queen." And what better place is there to escape the hot May weather than in an ice-arena where it's so frosty that each breath lingers before you. With a show as spectacular as this, you'll be taking many an icy breath.
"Snow Queen"
Siemens Ice Hall
May 20 – 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m.
Tickets cost: 1.50 lats (2.30 euros) – 3.50 lats, sold at Alfa, Siemens Ledus Halle,
Rigas Sporta Pils.
