The festival won the International Opera Awards in the Festivals category. The awards were presented last night at a gala ceremony hosted by the Bavarian State Opera at Munich’s Prinzregententheater. The Artistic Director of the Opera Festival, Ville Matvejeff, was present to accept the award.
´It is wonderful to receive such a prestigious international recognition. It is a testament to the long-term work that has been carried out at the Opera Festival over the decades. The award also reinforces that the Opera Festival is an internationally recognized and respected high-quality event,´ Matvejeff commented after the ceremony.
´We had a very strong shortlist for the Festivals category this year, and I am happy that even against such stiff competition Savonlinna Opera Festival won this award. One of the privileges of our jury work is to be able to add another international spotlight where exceptional work is being done. I’ve been coming to Savonlinna for many years and it’s a personal favourite of mine — above all for the excellent artistic work and interesting programming. But since the oft-repeated real estate agents’ mantra (Location, location, location …) seems to hold true of all the most memorable summer opera festivals, Savonlinna’s uniquely beautiful setting must be mentioned too. This is a festival that has everything. Congratulations on your win!´ says John Allison, the chair of the jury.
The Opera Festival was also nominated in the same category in 2022, when the award went to the Santa Fe Opera.
The nominees for the International Opera Awards are selected from public nominations submitted from around the world. The final shortlist is chosen by an international jury of industry professionals, led by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine.
The International Opera Awards was founded in 2012 with the goal of raising the profile of opera as an art form worldwide, recognizing and rewarding success in opera, and raising funds for scholarships for talented opera artists.
