Forest Opera


The Forest Opera is an open-air amphitheatre located in Sopot, Poland, with a capacity of 4400 seats, the orchestra pit can contain up to 110 musicians.

History

Built in 1909, the amphitheatre is used for various entertainment events and shows, including opera performances and song festivals. After World War I and almost till end of World War II it was a place of operatic festivals and Sopot was recognized throughout Europe and frequently labelled as the Bayreuth of the North. Here then mostly Wagnerian operas and his music dramas were performed regularly each year.
After World War II the Baltic State Opera performed at the Forest Opera few performances each year between 1962 and 1977, and sporadically outside this range.
Each year, starting from 1964, the Sopot International Song Festival takes place at the Forest Opera, events being organized by the Ministry of Culture and Art in cooperation with the Polish Artistic Agency. It was a music event transmitted then to the Eastern bloc countries via television. Starting in 1994 the Polish Television Public Company became the producer of the festival.
Among some of the ensembles, on June 28, 2001, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under James Levine gave a concert at the Forest Opera.
An attempt was made to reactivate the Sopot Wagner Festival on the 100th anniversary of the Forest Opera's creation, with the special event of a single concert performance of Das Rheingold, conducted by Jan Latham-Konig-for the first time since the end of the 1930s. The announced intention of the organizers is staging the remaining parts of Der Ring des Nibelungen in Sopot within the next few years.
Starting in the fall of 2009 Sopot Forest Opera was under extensive renovation and modernization which, according to estimates, will take at least till May 2012 to complete.

Performances in ''Zoppot Festspiele''