Performer: Tuomas Katajala

For any opera house, the production of a new Wagner Ring cycle is a huge undertaking and becomes a mission statement. For Finnish National Opera, its mission is to stage an all-Finnish Ring.

In an unusually convincing concert performance, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Finnish National Opera emphasised the lyrical aspects of Wagner's Das Rheingold.

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.