Latvijas Pasts releases a stamp in honour of the first Latvian opera Baņuta
On the 3rd of July 2020 Latvijas Pasts is releasing a new postage stamp in honour of the opera Baņuta staged by composer Alfrēds Kalniņs (1879–1951), as this year marks the 100th anniversary of its premiere at the Latvian National Opera. The new stamp will first be available for purchase at the post offices of the largest cities, as well as in the e-shop of Latvijas Pasts https://veikals.pasts.lv/. Those interested in the first day cancellation options are invited to contact us by writing to the e-mail address: filatelija@pasts.lv.
The print run of the new stamp is 50,000 copies and its face value is € 1.00, which corresponds to the postage of letter-post items in the weight class up to 20 grams within Latvia. The release of the stamp is accompanied by the issue of a special cover with a print run of 1,000 copies. The philatelic releases have been designed by the artist Lilija Dinere.
In the visual presentation of the stamp and the cover the artist used a reproduction of the scenic design Valguša pils (Valgudis’ Castle) (1940) created by set designer Jānis Kuga for the opera Baņuta and stored in the Literature and Music Museum collection; a photo from the first act of the opera Baņuta (1920) stored in the archives of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet; and materials from the Misiņš Library of the Academic Library of the University of Latvia.
Baņuta is the first Latvian national opera, created more than 100 years ago by composer Alfrēds Kalniņš, based on a libretto composed in 1903 by architect and writer Artūrs Krūmiņš (1879–1969). The 28th of May 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the premiere of the opera at the Latvian National Opera. Baņuta is considered a symbol of Latvian classical music.
Taking into consideration that public events, including the first day stamp cancellation at post offices, are currently suspended due to security requirements, stamp collectors and those interested in philately are invited to contact the Stamp and Philately Department of
Latvijas Pasts regarding stamp cancellation options by writing to the e-mail address:
filatelija@pasts.lv.
The new stamp and the cover
Opera Baņuta – 100 can be seen
here.
The next philatelic release is scheduled for the 10th of July.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with over 3,400 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Vineta Danielsone | Senior Public Relations Project Manager
