Admin

Savonlinna Opera Festival

Conductor

Yves Abel

Stage director

Lighting designer (+4)

Pet Halmen

Lighting designer

Costume designer

Set designer

Chorusmaster

Conductor (+1)

Jan Schweiger

Chorus

Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir

Orchestra

Orchestra of the Savonlinna Opera Festival

Soprano (+2)

Ewa Płonka

Turandot

Olavinlinna Castle

Leena Astikainen

Children's Choir of the Savonlinna Opera Festival

Baritone (+1)

Riku Pelo

A Mandarin

Baritone (+2)

Veikko Vallinoja

The Emperor Altoum

Baritone (+3)

Waltteri Torikka

Ping

Tenor (+2)

Einar Dagur Jónsson

Pang

Tenor (+1)

Aljaž Žgavc

Pong

Revival Stage Director

Stage director (+1)

Roman Hovenbitzer

Tenor

Amadi Lagha

Calaf

Soprano (+1)

Tuuli Takala

Liù

Sonja Herranen

Bass (+2)

Petri Lindroos

Timur

Bass (+3)

Matti Turunen

Francesco Pio Galasso

‘Now is the time to go to Savonlinna if you are interested in world-class vocal art. The tenor Amadi Lagha plays the role of Calaf in Puccini’s Turandot in a way that is rarely heard, at least on Finnish opera stages’, wrote the reviewer from Helsingin Sanomat in 2018, and now this magnificence is coming back again. Princess Turandot is Ewa Płonka, a musician who has been transformed almost overnight from a concert pianist into an opera singer, and who is now in demand at the world’s foremost opera houses.  
 

If you only listen to one opera aria in your life, you should choose the best: Nessun dorma (‘None shall sleep’). It is a display of strength for the singer and intoxicating honey for the listener. It is also an excellent reason to see Turandot, although there are many other reasons to experience this love classic.

Turandot is an opera that is full of drama, but it still has a happy ending. It is a reminder that love can break down barriers and overcome fear. Pet Halmen’s direction is powerful, and Puccini’s music is extraordinarily grand and beautiful.  

The production of Turandot performed at Savonlinna also has a unique twist. This was the last work written by Puccini, who died in 1924. Director Halmen has skilfully brought the terminally ill Puccini into his own opera: as consciousness fades, the master composer becomes delirious and interweaves his own life with the plot of Turandot. 

In recent years, Turandot has been the subject of a debate concerning Orientalism and cultural appropriation. It is an image of its time, born in a Europe of the past. As was typical of the period, Puccini genuinely admired the exotic East and imitated its beauty. Indeed, this Turandot can be seen through the eyes of Puccini, taking stock of his life.

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