The Touched by Eternity

“The Touched by Eternity”
A patriotic musical mystery, a story about the Struggle for Freedom.
Authors: Aleksandrs Čaks, Jānis Lūsēns, Mārtiņš Vilsons
The script is based on Aleksandrs Čaks' poem cycle “The Touched by Eternity”
Actor Mārtiņš Vilsons, composer Jānis Lūsēns, and musician Evija Mundeciema
have dressed Čaks' texts in a powerful, patriotic, emotional, and artistically sensitive
language that allows us to empathize and understand the heroism of Latvian riflemen and
the high price paid for the establishment of an independent state, our freedom, and
prosperity. This work, evaluated differently at various times, is one of the most important and artistically
valuable. It is important to remind using all artistic means of expression, making it understandable to people of different ages, nationalities, and religious backgrounds.
By moving forward and outlining a vision for the future, one must explore the past to understand the order of things with nobility and self-sacrificing examples of our nation's heroes, and to give us the opportunity to grow ourselves.
One of A. Čaks' leading motifs in his work was personal freedom, which is most vividly
expressed in the poem cycle “The Touched by Eternity”, where the riflemen are portrayed as embodiments of civil and national freedom. The fate of this work was as complex as Čaks' life – starting with general acclaim and ending with political leadership's denial and Čaks' own denial. The cycle began in 1930 with the publication of the poem “The Return of the Riflemen” and immediate reader acclaim. Later, as Čaks worked for the Latvian Old Riflemen's Association publication and created the magazine “Latvian Riflemen”, he met and got to know the riflemen and their stories of struggle, which led to the poem cycle “The Touched by Eternity”.
Čaks' poem cycle “The Touched by Eternity” is one of the cornerstones of Latvian literature and rightfully inscribed in the Canon of Latvian Culture.
“Listen to your nation's rumble,
Her joy speaks in pain,
In her heroes and death.
Learn to stand with them
Against victory and fear,
And never again shall you be
Naked and unclean forever.”

Duration of the show 1hr 15min
Premiering on November 18, 2021, in Riga
Included in the Latvian School Curriculum.