“I met Arnold in 1958, while studying directing at the Conservatory,” Aina Matīsa told the magazine IEVAS STĀSTI.
She first noticed him on stage after he graduated from the Theater Faculty and joined the National Theater, then known as the Drama Theater. Matīsa watched him play Noliņš in Indrani. She felt he possessed a distinct intelligence that set him apart from other actors, though she initially found his blonde, unruly wig distracting. Later, she saw him in another production with his natural thick, dark hair.
Matīsa and Liniņš formed a creative partnership at the Dailes Theater. Program notes sometimes listed Matīsa as the director and Liniņš as the staging director, indicating he was the primary conceptual creator while others formed the creative team. Matīsa compared their collaboration to that of Felita Ertnere and Eduards Smiļģis.
Their partnership handled major productions such as Elizabeth, Queen of England, which served as Vija Artmane‘s 50th-anniversary performance. Matīsa also took charge of rehearsals for Joseph and his brothers when Liniņš fell ill and took a two-week trip abroad.
Liniņš became the artistic director at the Dailes Theater in 1971. He inherited a company of 86 staff and freelance actors, consisting largely of middle-aged and older performers, with Jānis Filipsons as the youngest at age 27.
“It was very difficult for Linin to work,” Matīsa told IEVAS STĀSTI, explaining that managing such a large ensemble without the right to dismiss anyone presented a challenge. Everyone wanted stage time, but finding suitable work for every actor proved difficult.