opera festival in olavinlinna fortress

Savonlinna Opera Festival is a very unique experience. The Olavinlinna fortress offers a setting which no other place can beat. Walking to the island (where the fortress is) forces you to calm down and relax prior the opera and the scene within the castle in unique. The whole town of Savonlinna (located beautifully by the lakes) breaths the atmosphere of the magical opera air.Unlike anything else. I have been there 10+ years and will return every year again.

The Magic Flute (by Mozart) was played in Finnish. This version is good for children. Opera performances are in outside (there is a canopy for audience).

Attended with friends the festival, both Carmen & Kullervo. Both performances were excellent albeit I found Kullervo heavy.

We have just been to Olavlinna Fortress for the first time to see Salienen Kullervo! The setting, the voices, the performance were breath taking.We could not take our eyes off the stage. The singers were mesmerising actors and singers, the choir was like an ancient Greek oracle predicting and explaining what was or would be happening. the fortress surrounding fitted perfectly to make this experience once in a life time.looking forward to the Magic fFlute tonight .

For a heavy metal consert the surraundings were spectacular!Amorphis was even more fantastic than usual, if possible. A night to remember.

The performances are usually of very high standard. But the seats are in a perfect line one after the other - meaning that if there is one slightly taller person between you and the stage you will not see a thing. Given the price of the ticket and the tribulations the audience has to go through to reach the venue, it would be nice to see more than just the back of the head of the person in front of you.Also the light installations cover the text monitors. Shows disrespect of the customer to not even bother to check if the monitors can be read from the audience - installing the monitors 50 cm lower would've probably fixed the issue.The venue itself is nice and as mentioned the performances are top notch. But you may get a lot less than you payed for.

My husband and I have seen 2 operas in this castle. There is nothing that can beat this. Sound is wonderful, surroundings even better. Absolutely a must and Savonlinna is truly a great destination place....anytime of the year!

My first Opera. Place and surroundings are impressive, but the performance was not the easiest one for first timer.

Olavlinna Castle was built in the 1200s I believe as a fortress to protect against military aggression. In the early 20th century, the castle was refitted as a stage for opera and has since become a mecca for opera lovers from all over the world. Just getting to the castle by crossing a couple of bridges that connect the town of Savonlinna to the island castle is a thrilling experience. Inside the artistic elements of each of the three productions I saw were outstanding. Verdi's Macbeth in a fortress castle seemed to fit like hand in glove. The ambiance also worked nicely for Wagner's Lohengrin, but the set designers do miracles on stage to create all sorts of evocative moods no matter the time period or location dictated by the opera's story line. Not only is the musical experience high quality, the adventure of being in such a venerable old bastion makes for a double pleasure.

Bin in den letzten 15 Jahren unzählige Male in der Olavinlinna zum Opernfestival gewesen, es ist immer ein Erlebnis: die Atmosphäre vor, während und nach den Vorstellungen ist einmalig. Unbedingt vorher ein Gläschen in einem der vielen Strandrestaurants geniessen....

Мы в этом году впервые посетили Савонлинна и оперный фестиваль. Приехали с сыном-подростком специально на концерт финской группы Amorphis. Билеты покупали еще зимой. Выступление метал-группы необычно для такого фестиваля, но их выбрали неспроста, т.к. в своих песнях они используют тематику финского эпоса Калевала. Интересно было наблюдать кучу разновозрастного неформального народа, стекавшегося на концерт.Сама идея концерта в крепости и атмосфера нам очень понравилась. Единственное я думала, что концерт под открытым небом и надо утепляться, но наоборот было душновато, т.к лето было теплое, а над крепостью делают купол из пластика на случай плохой погоды. (Кстати получается, что крепость целиком и без купола можно увидеть только в холодное время года, когда проходит фестиваль).Рада,что фестиваль подарил нам незабываемые эмоции и возможность посетить роскошную средневековую крепость.

Estuvimos en la ópera finlandesa Kullervo, absolutamente maravillosa!!!! muy recomendable y una puestga en escena fantástica

湖に浮かぶ古城でのオペラ。白夜、天候等心配していましたが全くの杞憂でした。城の一角に天幕を張り雨天に備えてありました。チケットは3月にインターネットで購入。モーツアルトの「魔笛」でしたが、その時点ですでに残りわずか、前方の端のみでした。舞台装置は子供向きの感があり、あまり楽しめませんでしたが、タミーノ、パパゲーノ、特に夜の女王の後半の歌唱力は素晴らしく感動すると同時に、混声合唱の迫力、ハーモニ―の素晴らしさは心の奥まで響きわたりました。席が最前列右端のため舞台全体の様子はあまりよく見えませんでしたが、登場人物の表情を楽しむ特権が与えられ、満足できました。　　出入り口が狭いため、前方の席ですと終演後会場を出るのは最後となりかなり待たされました。その上休憩時間にはトイレに行くのが大変です。トイレの数も少なかったのですが。小さな劇場ですので後方でも舞台は充分見えます。総合的に判断して後方の席が良いのではないかと思いました。

helt fantastiskt hela miljön,operan, medverkande.Ruinen som de lagt tak över.2000 människor får plats.

Operafestivalens plasering i Olofsborgen är inte bara fantastisk utan ger också en otrolig möjlighet till en unik operaupplevelse. Dessvärre utnyttjas inte alltid denna unika miljlö av scenografer vid olika uppsättningar.