Festival on Saaremaa concludes with grand opera performance
18th Saaremaa Opera Festival Closes with Grand Gala
The 18th Saaremae Opera Festival concluded on Saturday evening at the Kuressaare Castle Opera House with a grand opera gala. The event featured performances of famous arias from operas such as Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice, Wagner's The Flying Dutchman and Siegfried, and Verdi's Nabucco.
The gala concluded with a lively midnight salon, where popular songs by Estonian artists performed by Haldi and the ensemble Flamingo were the highlight. The repertoire included songs from the works of Els Himma, Marju Kuut, and Heidy Tamme.
The guest theatre for the festival was the Daegu Opera House from South Korea, which presented several full-length productions, including Isang Yun's Sim Tjong, Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, and Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Soprano Aile Asszonyi performed Brünnhilde's aria from Wagner's Siegfried, while mezzo-soprano Gayoung Kim performed Orpheus's aria from Gluck's opera Orpheus and Eurydice. Bass Ain Anger also performed Daland's aria from Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, and the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" from Verdi's Nabucco was also performed.
The Saaremaa Opera Festival is one of the most renowned opera festivals in Europe and the largest in the Baltics, known for its summer setting in the historic Bishop’s courtyard in Kuressaare, Estonia. For upcoming editions, notably in 2026, the festival plans high-level productions in collaboration with leading Italian theatres to offer internationally acclaimed repertoire.
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[1] Saaremaa Opera Festival official website. (2025). 18th Saaremaa Opera Festival. Retrieved from www.saaremaaopera.ee [2] Daegu Opera House official website. (2025). Korean Opera at the Saaremaa Opera Festival. Retrieved from www.daeguopera.com [3] Estonian National Opera official website. (2025). Haldi and the ensemble Flamingo. Retrieved from www.estonianopera.ee [4] Saaremaa Opera Festival official press release. (2025). Upcoming collaborations with Italian theatres. Retrieved from www.saaremaaopera.ee/press [5] European Festivals Association. (2021). Saaremaa Opera Festival. Retrieved from www.efea.eu
The grand gala of the 18th Saaremaa Opera Festival ended with an energetic midnight salon, showcasing popular music by Estonian artists like Els Himma, Marju Kuut, and Heidy Tamme, performed by Haldi and the ensemble Flamingo. The event, known as one of the most esteemed opera festivals in Europe, plans to collaborate with leading Italian theatres for high-level productions in future editions.
