Savonlinna Opera Festival

Name: Savonlinna Opera Festival
Start: 2026-07-03
End: 2026-08-01
Location: Savonlinna

took place · 3 Jul 2026

Savonlinna

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Description was written before the event

The Savonlinna Opera Festival's summer 2026 programme features five operas: Madama Butterfly, Nabucco, The Marriage of Figaro, La Traviata, and Bellini's Norma.

Lisette Oropesa makes her debut in the title role of Norma. Nabucco was part of the summer 2024 programme and now returns to the festival.

About the festival: Savonlinna Opera Festival

60 000-70 000

annual visitors

Since 1912

years running

2 264

auditorium capacity (seats)

~750

seasonal staff

Good to know

Runs 30 days: 3 July - 1 August 2026
Tickets from 54.60 EUR (Norma concert) to 220 EUR (premium stalls)
Lottery ticket (pajatsolippu) available: 104.60 EUR guarantees a seat worth at least 149.60 EUR
Auditorium capacity 2,264 seats (covered courtyard)
Train station 15 min walk from Olavinlinna castle
Flight Helsinki-Savonlinna approx. 1 hour
Festival shuttle bus from city-centre hotels to castle and back, 15 EUR return
No camping on site; accommodation in Savonlinna city centre (hostels from ~30 EUR/night, hotels 80-150 EUR/night)

What's new

2026-06
The 2027 season was announced, with a new opera Andrea Chénier and the return of The Barber of Seville and The Magic Flute, plus a guest production of Carmen from the Estonian National Opera.
2025-06
The 2026 season programme was officially announced on 24 June 2025, with five Italian operas headlined by Lisette Oropesa's debut in Norma.
2025-06
Ticket sales opened to the general public on 1 July 2025, with a 10% early-bird discount on categories 1-4 valid until 30 September 2025.
2025-06
For summer 2026, the Olavinlinna auditorium's section A will receive a new central aisle and a cross-aisle at row 14, adding more aisle seats and faster access to intermission areas.

Headliners

Lisette Oropesa John Osborn Marigona Qerkezi Silja Aalto Ida Falk Winland Antony Ciaramitaro Giorgio Berrugi Petri Lindroos Timo Riihonen Jérôme Boutillier Riccardo Frizza Piergiorgio Morandi

About: Lisette Oropesa

New Orleans-born soprano of Cuban heritage, Oropesa has built one of opera's most admired careers across five languages and four decades of repertoire - from Handel and Mozart to Verdi and Massenet. Her bel canto portrayals, especially Violetta and Lucia, have drawn standing ovations from New York to Milan.

191K

Instagram followers

140+

Met Opera performances (career total)

Upcoming concerts on current tour

What's new

2026-07
Oropesa's performance as Elvira in the Met's new production of Bellini's I Puritani airs on PBS Great Performances on July 12, 2026.
2026-05
The 2023 La Scala Lucia di Lammermoor with Oropesa and Juan Diego Flórez, conducted by Riccardo Chailly, was released on DVD on May 18, 2026.
2026-02
The Metropolitan Opera announced Oropesa will return in the title role of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda in the 2026-27 season, following her critically praised run as Elvira in I Puritani.

Tour

SalzburgNew YorkMadridNaplesZurichMunichBerlinLondon

Tracks

French Bel Canto AriasSolo album, won International Opera Award for Best Recording (Solo Recital) 2023

Lucia di Lammermoor (La Scala, 2023)Live recording with Juan Diego Flórez, cond. Riccardo Chailly; released on DVD May 2026

La traviataStudio recording; Violetta is one of her most acclaimed signature roles worldwide

Ombra compagnaAlbum of Mozart concert arias

Mis amores son las floresZarzuela arias album; shortlisted for International Opera Awards Best Solo Recital 2025

Here's how it looked last time

2025

Photo: Valtteri Hirvonen

Photo: Petri Saarelainen

Photo: Jussi Silvennoinen

Savonlinna Opera Festival

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