Savonlinna and the Opera

We arrived in Savonlinna about 3:30 which gave us time to get settled in our rooms and relax with a gin and tonic before we headed off to Olavinlinna Castle and the opera. The walk to the castle along the shoreline is beautiful especially in the late afternoon sun. A couple of old tour boats, still in operation, are tied up to the waterfront. More are still out on the water with passengers enjoying a tour of the lake. We also passed a few restaurants filled with patrons enjoying a dinner and/or drinks before the opera or just having a nice relaxing evening on the waterfront.

Several old wooden ships cruise the lake

Not everyone is heading to the opera

Dinner before the show

We arrived at the castle about 6:15 giving us plenty of time to wander the castle on our way to our seats along with the 2200 others. Two musicians part of the orchestra obviously were late as they rushed past us and then along the narrow sidewalk between the lake and the castle walls. We finally reached our seats along the back row to await the performance. This opera company is world famous and sells out every performance during its short run in July. We ordered our tickets in January and these were the best seats available.

A couple of musicians are late

Pre-show cocktails

The stage is in the large courtyard covered by a canvas ceiling. Drapes help the acoustics. We were surprised we weren’t outdoors, but others told us that the warm weather we were having was unusual. Rain and cool weather in the evenings is not uncommon so the cover was a necessity.

When the performance started we immediately realized we were in for a special evening. Over 100 cast members filled the stage and their voices filled the courtyard. A troop of about 20 children danced as the singers celebrated summer setting the stage for the sadness to follow. At first I thought they were a bunch of kids interested in theater, but soon realized they were ballet students already quite skilled. A small troop of gymnasts also performed.

The Queen of Spades, by Tchaikovsky, is the rather sad story of a young man in love with a woman above his station. He pins his hopes on getting an old woman, whom he calls a hag, to share with him the three cards that will lead him to victory and riches in the nightly card game. Of course, the girl falls in love with him anyway. She doesn’t care about the money, but he can’t get over the fact that he is poor and schemes to learn the three cards. He finally succeeds only to discover too late that the old woman has deceived him. He kills himself; she dies of heartbreak; and they walk off into the mist of death.

Interval snacks and more

The entire performance was magnificent in this beautiful setting, lasting three and a half hours with a 30-minute interval. We needed that long an interval to find the toilet and get drinks or a snack before the second act. Those who know the drill will preorder a snack and a table for the interval so they can enjoy the time looking out over the lake and the rest of the crowd mingling in any of several spots around the castle. I did some exploring since we wouldn’t be coming back for a formal tour in the morning. It is a large castle with three turrets completely surrounded by the lake. Lots of nooks and crannies and walkways along the parapets gave me plenty to explore before I had to make it back to my seat and the second act.

After the show was over and the 15-minute ovation, we walked back to our hotel through town stopping for a hot dog on the way. At the hotel we finished the evening with a final drink before heading off to bed to prepare for our drive to Jyväskylä the next day.

Before leaving in the morning, we took a nature walk around a small island next to the hotel.