(Photo: Krzysztof Mystkowski)

What do you expect to find in a Polish forest? Chanterelles or blueberries, deer or foxes perhaps. But opera? That’s how it is in the forest of the seaside resort of Sopot, not far from Gdansk, on the shores of the Baltic Sea. And has been since 1909! Not continuously, but over and over, so much so that it has been described as the “Bayreuth of the North,” because the works of Richard Wagner have been performed there so often. And not only opera,: the beauty contest “Miss Polski” 1991 and also the legendary pop singer Whitney Houston sold out all 5047 seats in 1999, as well as Jethro Tull in 2016.

After extensive renovation work, the Baltic Opera Festival was launched in 2023, thanks to the initiative of the now world-famous Polish bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny, who is singing Wotan in Bayreuth this year, among other roles.

Opera Magic in the Forest

The journey to Opera Lesna – literally translated as Forest Opera – is an experience in itself. From Gdansk by car, bike or bus, you arrive in the parking lot of the forest and have to make a a short pilgrimage to the site – yes, there is an unintended resemblance to approaching the hallowed halls of Bayreuth! In the evening, although it is the middle of summer, it is cool and those who have remembered to bring a jacket are well off.

Once you reach the site, there is a huge, temple-like structure that is open on all sides but covered by huge, permanent sails. This protects the stage and the audience from wind and weather. The stage is very wide and deep, and the pit can easily accommodate 110 musicians. What better place than here to stage “The Flying Dutchman” and “Turandot,” the two operas on the program this year?

Turandot

A whole suite of oriental fans on broad steps, dramatically illuminated in white, red or blue by Bogumil Palewicz depending on the mood, provide the artistic flair. Director Waldemar Zawodzinski tells the story of the ice-cold princess who ultimately finds love in a straightforward manner. He makes frequent use of the dancers from the Lódz Opera, who, under the choreography of Joshua Legge and Gintautas Potockas in Dorota Roqueplo’s imaginative costumes, create almost Broadway–like musical numbers on the wide stage.

Liudmyla Monastyrska as Turdandot succeeds in not having to force her striking soprano thanks to finely applied amplification. The rewarding role of Liu is performed by Izabela Matula without pathetic sweetness. Tenor Martin Muehle‘s Calaf ultimately lacks the radiance that makes this role unique. Rafal Siwek as his father Timur is all the more convincing in his noble and tragic demeanor. The three ministers Ping, Pang and Pong, played by Tomasz Rak, Aleksander Zuchowicz and Mateusz Zajdel, are vocally convincing but presented by the stage director as comical figures and thus lose any credibility that Puccini ascribes to them. Three mute figures dressed entirely in red are presumably supposed to embody the three enigmas – although they are occasionally a splash of color on the stage, they contribute nothing to the dramaturgy of the work.

The Canadian-Ukrainian chief conductor and founder of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, Keri-Lynn Wilson, is in the pit, spicing up Puccini’s well-known melodies with enough pepper to lift them out of the banal and create a very enjoyable evening.

It is to be hoped that Tomasz Konieczny and his team will succeed in reviving the Baltic Opera Festival tradition as a permanent fixture at the Forest Opera in Sopot. As both events were as good as sold out, with the excellent marketing and support of local and regional institutions and sponsors large and small, they are all well on the way to realizing this project. Added to this is the charm of the historic, architecturally stunning and beautifully restored old town of Gdansk and the fine sandy beach of Sopot. This is not meant to be a commercial for the Baltic Opera Festival – or is it? We can look forward to next year’s program with great anticipation!