CULTURE

finland's musical, magical castle

Staff Writer

Matti Kolho / www.operafestival.fi The castle at Savonlinna, a place full of romance and legend, has hosted musical events for nearly a century.

SAVONLINNA, Finland - When you see the rotund towers of Olavinlinna, even from far away, you feel the magic instantly. The closer you get, the stronger the vibe, and when you finally enter this magnificent 15th century castle looming above a tiny island in Savonlinna, Southern Finland, you are dying to know the story.

Every summer, the imposing castle houses the month-long Savonlinna Opera Festival, Finland's prime annual operatic event, and one of the most renowned opera events around the world. This year, the event stretches from July 9 through Aug. 7. With shows performed in the castle's large courtyard, surrounded by turrets and bastions, and serene views over the Saimaa Lake, the festival, delicately juxtaposing art, history and nature could hardly have a better setting.

And when the guide tells you that Olavinlinna, with its distinct medieval feel, romantic and mystical flair, has the most poetic legend behind it, you already feel prepared.

Sanna Vainikainen, a tri-lingual guide at the castle, said the legend dates back to the 15th or 16th century, when Olavinlinna was controlled by Swedes and tells the love story of a Swedish girl and a Russian officer.

Ingel, the daughter of the castle's Swedish commandant, was in love with a handsome Russian officer. A jealous and unsuccessful rival, a Swedish officer at the castle, found out about the romance and staged a trick against the lovers. He set the castle's gate ajar to lure the Russians into the fortress. The Russians fell for the bait and launched an attack but predictably failed as the evil man was watching them from the start and raised the alarm in time.

The investigation as to who could have opened the door yielded no result yet Ingel's affair with the Russian officer became public. The girl was declared guilty and buried alive in the castle wall.

Mysteriously, decades later a rowanberry tree grew from the castle's vertical wall, a dozen meters above the ground. It was then people remembered that the girl had been bricked up in the wall with a branch of rowanberry tree in her hand.

"We believe that its white flowers symbolize Ingel's innocence, while the red berries stand for her blood," Vainikainen said. "The tree grew over three meters high but broke off during a severe storm in 1950s. Amazingly, people who once saw it, still come back and often ask about it."

The ghost balcony peering over the Olavinlinna's main hall, is associated with the doomed lovers. As the story has it, every full moon, nearing midnight, the pair are seen meeting on the gallery.

Vainikainen said the couple don't actually reveal themselves and keep quiet. "Those who sense their presence, just tell us that they strongly felt there was someone else at the hall," the guide explains. "Some of our staff heard random squeaks and rustles on the balcony but the main thing is that special chilly feeling."

The fortress was founded in 1475 by a Danish knight Eik Axelsson Tott, and takes its name from St. Olav, the castle's patron saint. On St. Olav's Day, July 29, entrance is free to the castle but be warned that it gets very crowded.

"The main purpose of the castle was that it originally served as a junction for the Swedish-Danish union to be more protected from the Slavic principalities," Vainikainen said.

But throughout its history the fortress changed hands several times, first going to the Russians in 1714, when it was conquered by the army of Peter the Great.

The Russians added much to the castle including several bastions and one fort, named after renowned commander Alexander Suvorov, who served there for about two years in late 18th century. Since 1973 the castle has been connected to the mainland by a pontoon bridge; before then it could only be reached by boat and was well protected.

"Even a frog couldn't jump into this castle," Field Marshall Suvorov said of Olavinlinna. Interestingly enough, these days the Suvorov bastion serves as a dressing room for performers at the opera festival which now brings fame to the castle, and audiences are not allowed to enter it. Legends abound about this bastion too. The castle had a ram as its mascot, and once upon a time the enemy attempted to sneak into the fortress and attack it. But a storm suddenly struck, and lightning razored the sky, exposing the castle's walls. The enemy saw a horned ram, took it for for the devil personified, and ran away.

In 1809, when Finland was annexed by the Russian Empire, the castle lost its military importance, and since 1847 served only civilian purposes. It has hosted the Savonlinna Opera festival, one of the oldest in Europe, since 1912.

Initially called a "Singing Festival", it was established by renowned Finnish soprano Aino Ackte, who first encountered the castle in 1907 when she attended a patriotic meeting there. The singer's trained ear immediately recognized the tremendous potential of the romantic, excellently preserved castle in both atmospheric and acoustic terms.

Ackte's original brainchild, however, didn't survive the First World War but was revived in 1967 as the Savonlinna Music Days festival.

Now, the one-month-long festival is a prestigious European musical event, showcasing fresh interpretations of operatic jewels, like Verdi's "Aida," Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman," and Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffmann," as well as unveiling contemporary Finnish classical music.

The courtyard-turned-hall, accommodating 2,200 people, is covered by a moveable plastic roof first installed in 1987. Not only does it protect audiences from intrusive mosquitos but plays a key role in the venue's amazing acoustics. Paavo Suokko, the festival's senior adviser, said the roof cost 2.5 million euros to make, and an additional 300,000 euros is spent every spring to re-mount it after a winter break. "The echo in the hall is 1.8 seconds, which is ideal for opera, and we are very proud of the acoustics," Suokko said. "The words can be distinguished very well from any seat."

Here in St. Petersburg, the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater, Valery Gergie, admitted at a recent news conference that it was the example of Savonlinna that inspired him to organize performances in historical castles and monasteries in the outskirts of the city including at the Vyborg Castle, the Ivangorod Fortress and the Uspensky Monastery in Tikhvin. Visually, the Mariinsky shows have been typically successful yet the poor acoustics at the locales has sometimes destroyed the performances. For the performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh" in Tikhvin, earler this month, the artists even had to use microphones.

Every year in Savonlinna meanwhile, the festival welcomes up to 60,000 people. About 80 percent are Finns but the event is quickly gaining international recognition. People speaking German, English, French, Italian and Russian can be heared during the interval.

The festival's symphony orchestra, assembled from the country's finest musicians, does some touring outside the festival, which also helps to establish contacts with other companies.

"Every year we have a guest company, which brings over both their national operas and works from the classical operatic repertoire," said Jukka Pohjolainen, marketing director of the Savonlinna Opera Festival. "The Mariinsky Theater performed here in 1995 and 1996, while this year we have the Latvian National Opera. Latvia joined the European Union this year, and this invitation is our welcome gesture into the cultural integration."

The town of Savonlinna, noted for its spa and peaceful scenery, was a popular resort among wealthy Russians before the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. These days Russians are, once again, waking up to the lake region's treasures.

Moscow's Bolshoi Theater launched its own event in the Olavinlinna castle three years ago: during the first week of June the Muscovites come to the shores of Saimaa Lake for an annual ballet fiesta, showcasing their most acclaimed productions. As Paavo Suokko points out, getaway trips from St. Petersburg are becoming more and more common, with Russians becoming interested in renting local dachas.

"In terms of culture you surpass us, but in terms of nature we are stronger, " Suokko smiles, referring to parallels and ties between St. Petersburg and Savonlinna.

The region's environment is reminiscent of landscape of Karelia, yet the lakes (there are 60,000 of them in the area) are surprisingly blue. Hedgehogs and squirrels cross the road side by side with locals. It is so peaceful that, remarkably enough, Savonlinna dogs don't seem to bark. "They are brought up that way - not to disturb the people around," explains Irina Santto, a Finnish diplomat in St. Petersburg. "This spirit of respect does make a difference."

Links: www.operafestival.fi

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