Since its first production in 1912 and its subsequent revival in 1967, Savonlinna Opera Festival has grown from a week long event into an international festival of a month’s duration. Taking place each summer against the stunning backdrop of a medieval castle in the centre of a lake in Olavinlinna, the festival attracts an annual audience of around 60,000, placing Savonlinna on an artistic par with the great European festivals while presenting the world with Finnish opera at its very best and five Finnish works have been premiered at the Savonlinna Opera Festival since 1967.
Guest appearances of the Company of the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 2001 included performances of La Forza del destino in Israel and Macbeth in Sweden.
