On 26 May 1921, the first part of Jānis Mediņš’s opera “Fire and Night” premiered at the Latvian National Opera — a monumental stage work shaped from Rainis’s world of Lāčplēsis, Spīdola, and Laimdota. Lāčplēsis was sung by Ādolfs Kaktiņš, Spīdola by Milda Brehmane-Štengele, and Laimdota by Ada Benefelde; Mediņš himself conducted. After this premiere, dozens of performances followed under the composer’s direction, and the opera was later reworked into a one-evening version.