Finnish Opera

The origins of Finnish opera can be traced to the late 18th century, when the first opera performances were staged in Finland. The first opera to be composed in Finland was Kung Karls jakt with music by Fredrik Pacius and a libretto by Zacharias Topelius. It was first performed in Helsinki on 24 March, 1852.

The Domestic Opera established by Aino Ackté and Edvard Fazer gave its first performance 2 October 1911. It later became the Finnish National Opera.

Savonlinna Opera Festival takes place annually at the medieval Olavinlinna in the city of Savonlinna. Aino Ackté organised the first festival in Savonlinna summer 1912.

After Finland gained independence in 1917, Russian-owned Alexander Theatre become property of Finland. It was given "temporarily" for the Finnish Opera, which used it for 70 years while waiting for the purpose-built opera house to be constructed.

Finnish opera got international reputation in 1970s with works by Joonas Kokkonen and Aulis Sallinen. Kokkonen's opera Last temptations (1975) was staged in Metropolitan in New York in 1983 and received over 500 performances worldwide.

Famous singers include Martti Talvela, Karita Mattila and Soile Isokoski.BBC Music Magazine named Mattila as one of the top 20 sopranos of the recorded era in 2007.

In 21st century, Kaija Saariaho's works have become the most performed operas.

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Wikipedia