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There is still some summer left – opera summer, at least. The independent opera and musical theatre festival Helsinki Opera Summer returns for its sixth edition from 27 August to 6 September 2026. Its programme brings together remarkable women from history, the Finnish Friday night and improvised opera.
The festival’s main venue is the Alexander Theatre, with performances also taking place at Kallio Church, the Old Church and elsewhere around the city.
The festival opens with the world premiere of Olli Kortekangas’s Divas in the Studio. The great names of Finnish cultural history, Ida Aalberg and Aino Ackté, find themselves under the lights of a modern television studio, discussing celebrity, their careers and the struggle to balance work and family.
Kallio Church hosts the world premiere of Bilepassio – Praise of Friday. In Tarmo Anttila’s work, the traditional Passion form of Western sacred music collides with the Finnish Friday night. Its protagonist, Markku, does not suffer on Golgotha but after work: he cracks open a can of Finnish long drink and invites his friends round. Baritone Waltteri Torikka sings the role of Markku.
The international programme includes the British production Cover Her, which connects the stories of medieval virgin martyrs with the contemporary MeToo movement.
Produced by Ooppera Skaala, Song from the Uproar explores the life of adventurer and writer Isabelle Eberhardt. The festival marks the Finnish premiere of the opera by American composer Missy Mazzoli.
The programme also includes Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mozart and Salieri, Mascagni’s Zanetto and the family musical Hayhat, Feltslipper and the Big Bang.
The free programme carries opera beyond the auditorium through improvisation, outdoor concerts and the travelling Opera Wheel, which roams the streets of Helsinki.