First Finnish opera cruise brings nearly 900 fans to Saaremaa
The first opera-themed cruise from Finland to Saaremaa brought nearly 900 opera lovers to the island, who attended the Saaremaa Opera Days and watched a performance of Verdi's "La Traviata".
Hundreds of opera enthusiasts sailed from Finland to Saaremaa this week on the island's first opera cruise. The charter voyage aboard MS Victoria I from Helsinki arrived Wednesday morning, and passengers toured Kuressaare before attending a sold-out performance of Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata" by the Goldoni Theater of Livorno, Italy, in the courtyard of Kuressaare Castle.
Local guide Annika Tamm said nine buses met the ship at Saaremaa Harbor to transport visitors into town, where they explored Kuressaare before the afternoon show.
Riina Aamisepp, marketing manager for Eesti Kontsert, noted that organizers had long discussed using the island's deepwater harbor to bring audiences directly to the festival. The dream began to materialize last fall when one of Finland's largest travel agencies, Ikaalisten Matkatoimisto, approached them with the idea.
The cruise's cultural program started even before the ship reached Estonia: soloists from the Estonian National Opera performed a half-hour concert on board Tuesday evening. Soprano Kadri Raalik said they received a very warm reception.
Estonian National Opera marketing manager Rein Mikk added that the cruise passengers were genuine opera fans, and organizers had brought a musicologist onboard to provide deeper insight into the story of "La Traviata."
Organizers hope the voyage will become an annual tradition. Aamisepp revealed that Eesti Kontsert, Ikaalisten Matkatoimisto, and Portugal's São Carlos National Theater are already planning another opera cruise for 2027, with hopes of eventually attracting visitors from Sweden as well.
