Manon Lescaut, by Puccini

From 23 to 27 JULY 2024

The Saaremaa Opera Festival (Estonia), which will take place from 23 to 27 July 2024, has chosen the Fundació Òpera Catalunya as the festival’s guest company . It will stage 5 performances in 5 days: productions of Tosca and Manon Lescaut by Puccini, Carmen by Bizet (flamenco-ballet version), Il trovatore by Verdi, and an Opera Gala, showcasing the most iconic pieces of the Catalan and Spanish repertoire.

Together with the soloists of the various productions, the Chorus of the Associació d’Amics de l’Òpera de Sabadell and the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallèswill be the protagonists of the festival. This is quite a challenge for the company and, at the same time, a great opportunity to raise its international profile.

About the festival

The Saaremaa Opera Festival is a prestigious event that takes place every year in the mediaeval Kuressaare Episcopal Castle, one of the best-known tourist attractions in western Estonia. The event draws in 20,000 visitors from all over the world. Since its inauguration in 1999, the festival has become increasingly important in the cultural life of Estonia, attracting the largest national and international audiences of any event in the country.

The Saaremaa Opera Festival offers opera performances staged by international opera companies. Since 2008, it has been organised by Eesti Kontsert. This state company is the main promoter of music in Estonia and manages the country’s four main auditoriums. The artistic director of the festival is Arne Mikk.

To date, the festival has featured the following companies: Black American Opera (USA, 2008), Latvian National Opera (2009), Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre (2010), Ankara State Opera and Ballet Theatre (Turkey, 2011), Moscow Helikon Opera (Russia, 2012), Tbilisi, Khuthaisi and Bathum opera theatres (Georgia, 2013), Ukrainian National Opera (2014), Teatro di Milano (Italy, 2015), Wroc?aw Opera Theatre (Poland, 2016), Krefeld-Mönchengladbach Opera Theatre (Germany, 2017), Shanghai Opera Theatre, Theatre Vanemuine and Hungarian State Opera (2018), St. Petersburg Chamber Opera (Russia, 2021), Silesian Opera Theatre in Bytom (Poland, 2022).

The 2023 edition is taking place from  25 to 29 July, showcasing as its guest company the Maria Bie?u National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Moldova.

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