Performer: Christoph Alstaedt

The opening production of the 2017 Savonlinna Opera Festival had an optimistic message, strongly delivered by a cast led by the exceptional Konstanze of Hulkar Sabirova.

RSNO cellist Peter Hunt's pre-concert talk began with a reading from Salman Rushhdie's novel, The Ground Beneath Her Feet. This reworking of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, was the inspiration for Open Ground by Russian-born (now Sweden-based) composer Victoria Borisova-Ollas. The novel's principal character, Vina Aspara, is caught up in an earthquake in Mexico.