{"id":1324,"date":"2023-05-22T23:12:08","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T20:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/about-the-festival\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T22:01:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T19:01:53","slug":"about-the-festival","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/about-the-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"About Us"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row padding_top_multiplier=&#8221;&#8221; padding_bottom_multiplier=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column rc_heading_color=&#8221;primary-1&#8243; mobile_width=&#8221;1&#8243;]<h2 class=\"eut-element eut-title eut-align-inherit eut-h3\" style=\"\"><span>Estonia&#8217;s first opera festival<\/span><\/h2>[vc_column_text]The history of Kuressaare Opera Festival (artistic director Ludmilla Toon) dates to 1999.  Since 2008, Saaremaa Opera Days has been organised by Eesti Kontsert and the artistic director of the festival is Arne Mikk.  The central venue of the festival is a well-known and valued landmark situated in Western Estonia, the medieval Kuressaare Episcopal Castle, whose garden and ancient walls are home to the summertime opera hall with a capacity of approximately 2000 viewers. The festival has cooperated with both Estonian opera houses (Vanemuine (2009, 2010, 2012) and the Estonian National Opera (2008, 2010, 2011)), as well as with opera houses from all over the world.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row padding_bottom_multiplier=&#8221;&#8221; desktop_visibility=&#8221;hide&#8221; tablet_visibility=&#8221;hide&#8221;][vc_column]<div class=\"eut-element eut-image eut-align-center\" style=\"\"><div class=\"eut-image-wrapper eut-popup-item\" style=\"max-width:1080px;\"><div class=\"eut-thumbnail-wrapper\"  style=\"max-width: 1080px;\"><div class=\"eut-thumbnail\"  style=\"padding-top: 66.667%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/SOP_Etendus_1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" data-eutf-filter=\"yes\" srcset=\"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/SOP_Etendus_1.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/SOP_Etendus_1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/SOP_Etendus_1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/SOP_Etendus_1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/div><\/div>  <\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row height_ratio=&#8221;50&#8243; padding_top_multiplier=&#8221;2x&#8221; padding_bottom_multiplier=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]Neeme J\u00e4rvi, Eri Klas, Jos\u00e9 Cura, Karita Mattila, Paata Burchuladze, Soile Isokoski, Lilli Paasikivi, Ain Anger, Matti Salminen, Jaakko Ryh\u00e4nen, Jorma Hynninen, Annely Peebo and many other beloved musicians have performed at the Saaremaa Opera Festival. Neeme J\u00e4rvi, Eri Klas, Jos\u00e9 Cura, Karita Mattila, Paata Burchuladze, Soile Isokoski, Lilli Paasikivi, Ain Anger, Matti Salminen, Jaakko Ryh\u00e4nen, Jorma Hynninen, Annely Peebo and many other beloved musicians have performed at the Saaremaa Opera Festival. Saaremaa Opera Festival has seen the best productions of featured guest theatres such as Black American Opera (USA, 2008), Latvian National Opera (2009), Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre (2010), Ankara State Opera and Ballet Theatre (2011), Helikon Opera Theatre (2012), Tbilisi, Khuthaisi and Bathum opera theatres (Georgia, 2013), Ukrainian National Opera (2014), Teatro di Milano (Italy, 2015), Wroc\u0142aw Opera Theatre (Poland, 2016), Krefeld-M\u00f6nchengladbach Opera Theatre (Germany, 2017), Shanghai Opera Theatre and Hungarian State Opera (2018), Moscow Helikon Opera Theatre (2019), St. Petersburg Chamber Opera (2021), Silesian Opera Theatre in Bytom (2022) and Maria Bie\u0219u National Opera, Ballet Theatre from Moldova (2023), \u00d2pera Catalunya (2024) and Daegu Opera House (South Korea, 2025).<\/p>\n<p>The main artist of 2026 is the Teatro Goldoni di Livorno (Italy).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; full_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; rc_bg_type=&#8221;image&#8221; rc_bg_image=&#8221;2317&#8243; expand_column_bg=&#8221;expand-bg-right&#8221; tablet_sm_width=&#8221;hide&#8221; mobile_width=&#8221;hide&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1754247673779{margin-left: 30px !important;}&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row section_type=&#8221;fullwidth&#8221; padding_top_multiplier=&#8221;4x&#8221; columns_gap=&#8221;none&#8221;][vc_column]<video class=\"eut-element eut-embed-video\"  controls autoplay=\"autoplay\"><source src=\"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SOP2024-16x9-2.04min.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\"><\/video>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row padding_top_multiplier=&#8221;&#8221; padding_bottom_multiplier=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column rc_heading_color=&#8221;primary-1&#8243; mobile_width=&#8221;1&#8243;][vc_column_text]The history of Kuressaare Opera Festival (artistic director Ludmilla Toon) dates to 1999. Since 2008, Saaremaa Opera Days has been organised by Eesti Kontsert and the artistic director of the festival is Arne Mikk. The central venue of the festival is a well-known and valued landmark situated in Western Estonia, the&hellip; <a class=\"continue\" href=\"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/about-the-festival\/\">Continue Reading<span> About Us<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1324","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>About Us - Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/about-the-festival\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About Us - Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row padding_top_multiplier=&#8221;&#8221; padding_bottom_multiplier=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column rc_heading_color=&#8221;primary-1&#8243; mobile_width=&#8221;1&#8243;][vc_column_text]The history of Kuressaare Opera Festival (artistic director Ludmilla Toon) dates to 1999. Since 2008, Saaremaa Opera Days has been organised by Eesti Kontsert and the artistic director of the festival is Arne Mikk. The central venue of the festival is a well-known and valued landmark situated in Western Estonia, the&hellip; Continue Reading About Us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/about-the-festival\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/saaremaaopera\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-03T19:01:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/en\\\/about-the-festival\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/en\\\/about-the-festival\\\/\",\"name\":\"About Us - Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-22T20:12:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-03T19:01:53+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/en\\\/about-the-festival\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/en\\\/about-the-festival\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/en\\\/about-the-festival\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"About Us\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad\",\"description\":\"18.&ndash;25. juuli 2026\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/SOP_Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/SOP_Logo.png\",\"width\":551,\"height\":551,\"caption\":\"Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/saaremaaopera.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/saaremaaopera\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/saaremaaopera\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"About Us - Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/about-the-festival\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"About Us - Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad","og_description":"[vc_row padding_top_multiplier=&#8221;&#8221; padding_bottom_multiplier=&#8221;&#8221;][vc_column rc_heading_color=&#8221;primary-1&#8243; mobile_width=&#8221;1&#8243;][vc_column_text]The history of Kuressaare Opera Festival (artistic director Ludmilla Toon) dates to 1999. Since 2008, Saaremaa Opera Days has been organised by Eesti Kontsert and the artistic director of the festival is Arne Mikk. The central venue of the festival is a well-known and valued landmark situated in Western Estonia, the&hellip; Continue Reading About Us","og_url":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/about-the-festival\/","og_site_name":"Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/saaremaaopera","article_modified_time":"2025-08-03T19:01:53+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/about-the-festival\/","url":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/about-the-festival\/","name":"About Us - Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-05-22T20:12:08+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-03T19:01:53+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/about-the-festival\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/about-the-festival\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/about-the-festival\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"About Us"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/","name":"Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad","description":"18.&ndash;25. juuli 2026","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/#organization","name":"Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad","url":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/SOP_Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/SOP_Logo.png","width":551,"height":551,"caption":"Saaremaa ooperip&auml;evad"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/saaremaaopera","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/saaremaaopera\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1324"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4034,"href":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1324\/revisions\/4034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saaremaaopera.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}