Wagner Theatre Riga Heads to Venice Architecture Biennale
From May 10 to November 23, 2025, the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale will take place under the theme “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.” Alongside the official program, the city will host a special exhibition titled “No Doubt About It,” featuring a scale model of the Wagner Theatre in Riga (1:30) as one of its centerpiece exhibits.
Curated by New York-based architect Vladimir Belogolovsky, the exhibition spotlights six outstanding architectural projects and their design strategies—each born from bold experimentation with intuitive ideas, and at times, initial uncertainty. Visitors will see concepts for three theaters, two museums, and one residential quarter. Alongside the Wagner Theatre model developed by Zaiga Gaile’s office, the exhibition will showcase architectural projects from Armenia, China, Georgia, Germany, and Poland.
“No Doubt About It” will be on display throughout the entire Biennale, including its preview days on May 8 and 9, at Magazzino Gallery—a contemporary art venue located in the historic Palazzo Contarini Polignac, right by Venice’s Grand Canal and just steps from the Gallerie dell’Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
Led by Iveta Leinassare, the Wagner Theatre model was created by a large team, including 12 volunteer interns—students and school pupils eager to gain experience and contribute to this meaningful project. Every detail of the model was carefully handcrafted, with a few elements like windows produced using 3D printing. The model helps visualize the building’s intricate layout and offers a glimpse of what the theatre will look like after restoration. The original, ornate tiled stoves—gently dismantled before construction—will be reinstated, and the floors will be covered with parquet made using patterns found in the original building. After the Biennale, the model will return to Riga, where it will become a central exhibit in the future Wagner Museum, awaiting the theatre’s grand reopening.
The Riga Richard Wagner Society and Zaiga Gaile’s Office emphasize that presenting the Wagner Theatre project in Venice completes a symbolic journey linking Riga, Bayreuth, Venice—and back to Riga. This “Wagner Triangle” marks three cities of great significance in Richard Wagner’s life.
In Riga (1837–1839), Wagner worked as a conductor at the City’s First Theatre. It was here that he discovered the concept of a three-part opera hall layout, radically different from tradition: the orchestra positioned in a pit before and partially under the stage, the conductor with his back to the audience, and the auditorium in darkness. In Riga, Wagner was born as an opera composer, beginning work on Rienzi while serving as conductor. During his escape from creditors aboard the ship Thetis, a storm in the Baltic Sea inspired his vision for The Flying Dutchman.
In Bayreuth, Wagner constructed his own opera house in 1876, implementing the very principles he explored in Riga. To this day, the prestigious Bayreuth Festival continues there annually. He also built his home, Villa Wahnfried, in the same town.
Venice is where Wagner’s life came to an end in 1883, at the Palazzo Vendramin on the Grand Canal. His coffin was transported by boat along the canal to the train station, then by rail to Bayreuth, where he was laid to rest in the garden of Villa Wahnfried. And now, in a poetic full circle, the model of the Riga Wagner Theatre will appear in Venice.
“All the waters of the world are connected, and it felt essential to link, across 142 years, the Wagner coffin once carried on the waters of the Grand Canal with the floating model of the Wagner Theatre,” explains architect Zaiga Gaile.
The participation in the Venice Biennale is supported by Latvijas Finieris, 3A, MG Būvnieks, Schwenk Latvija, the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia. Exhibition partners include Art Services Ltd., Maketudizains.lv, Maquettica.eu, and The Daily Print, with special thanks to the University of Latvia Academic Library and the Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation.
In preparation for this major event, we invite you to watch a video interview with the exhibition curator Vladimir Belogolovsky, the author of the project’s architectural vision, Zaiga Gaile, and initiator of the Wagner Theatre restoration project Māris Gailis.
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Restoring the Wagner House will bring multiple significant benefits, not only increasing the diversity and accessibility of cultural events for Latvian residents but also strengthening Riga’s and Latvia’s reputation as a cultural center and its connection to Richard Wagner, who served as Kapellmeister in this house from 1837 to 1839. The project plans not only to restore the building and theatre hall but also to establish masterclasses and a Richard Wagner Museum. The house will realize Wagner’s vision of “GesamtkunstWerk21” as an incubator for all art forms, becoming an international hub for emerging artists in the 21st century.
The main construction contractor for the project is the consortium “SBSC and 3A,” with SIA “Sarma un Norde Arhitekti” as the lead designer. Engineering and construction supervision are carried out by SIA “Būves un Būvsistēmas.” The architectural and interior design is handled by “Zaiga Gaile’s Bureau.” Experts from other countries have also been involved—for instance, theatre technology solutions are being developed by “Theater Advies” from the Netherlands, while theatre acoustics consultancy is provided by specialists from “Nagata Acoustics” under the leadership of Yasuhisa Toyota, who has contributed to the design of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Philharmonie de Paris, among other notable projects.
The project “Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Wagner House, 4 Richard Wagner Street, Riga, LV-1050, by Restoring and Renovating the Riga Wagner House” is supported by the Emissions Trading System, the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Embassy in Riga, the Riga City Council, the Messerschmitt Foundation, and SCHWENK.