The Fairy Queen
Henry Purcell
Guest artists in summer 2025 are Festival Perelada from the Catalan countryside. Perelada is one of the most interesting cultural events in southern Europe. Concerts and opera performances take place in the medieval town’s castle, park, church and monastery.
The Fairy Queen is perfect for all summer visitors, from the opera novice to the connoisseur.
The company brings to Savonlinna the oldest music ever performed at the Opera Festival. Written in 1692 and based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Fairy Queen is pure baroque, and just as rich, colourful and exuberant as you might imagine. This comedy was written during the heyday of English opera and is actually a ‘semi-opera’, a combination of opera and the aristocratic masques of the late 17th century.
The only reason it is a ‘semi-opera’ is that there are also spoken parts. As a 1692 poster says about the composer Henry Purcell: ‘Other nations use the term “opera” only for plays in which every word is sung. But experience has shown us that our English genius has no real taste for continuous singing.’
Let’s see what sort of taste this entertainment gives us! The Fairy Queen is perfect for all summer visitors, from the opera novice to the connoisseur.
The Best Opera Festival of 2024 – EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT 5%
Savonlinna Opera Festival has been awarded Best Festival 2024 at the prestigious International Opera Awards! Celebrate with us and purchase tickets for next summer’s performances with a 5% early bird discount. Discounted tickets can be found in our online store under the name “Early bird -5%“.
