550 Years Of Olavinlinna - Anniversary Concert

At Olavinlinna’s anniversary concert, the summer evening is filled with gratitude and vitality. The world’s northernmost medieval castle has been a stage for history and culture in war and peace. The 550 years that have passed in the border region have transformed the castle into a treasure. It is time for a great celebration. 

The concert will feature Aulis Sallinen’s movingly beautiful chronicle Linna vedessä(The Castle in the Water), setting a text by poet Lassi Nummi, as well as something completely new. Antti Auvinen, the most talked-about Finnish composer of the moment, will write a piece for the castle that will be premiered at the concert. 

Olavinlinna has influenced the careers of both composers. Fifty years ago, the 500th anniversary of the castle proved to be a turning point with the premiere of Aulis Sallinen’s Ratsumies (The Horseman). This marked the beginning of a new era in Finnish opera.  

In the early 1980s, a young schoolboy saw The Magic Flute at Olavinlinna. ‘It had a huge impact’, said Antti Auvinen (b. 1974). A passion for opera was born and with it a tradition of decades of summers in the audience at the Opera Festival. Auvinen has entered the Finnish music scene with a bang. His music is characterised by explosive energy and an element of surprise. In 2016, his innovative debut opera Autuus (Bliss) was awarded the prestigious Teosto Prize. 

In the summer of 2025, the wheel will come full circle: we shall celebrate Olavinlinna, the future of Finnish music – and also the 90th birthday of Aulis Sallinen – with soloists and chamber orchestra. 

Program and cast

Conductor: Erkki Lasonpalo

Savonlinna Opera Festival Orchestra

The soloists will be announced later.

PROGRAM

Aulis Sallinen: Antti Auvinen

Linna vedessä (The Castle in the Water): Premiere of a new piece