Opera SUOR ANGELICA by Giacomo Puccini (REFUND)

Dear friends of the Birgitta Festival
In keeping with the decision made by the Government of Estonia on 8 July, the 2021 Birgitta Festival will be cancelled. Unfortunately, the global coronavirus pandemic has yet to recede, and the situation is regrettably deteriorating in Russia, the place of residence for several of this year’s festival’s artists and performers.
The safety and security of our audience is of prime importance to the festival organisers, which is why we understand the government's decision not to grant an exemption to artists from Russia.
We hope for your understanding and to see you in 2022!

Tickets purchased from sales points can be returned at all Piletilevi sales points, except Circle-K service stations and the Viru Keskus sales point.

PDF ticket holders will have their tickets automatically repurchased and repayments will be made to the ticket buyer's current account.

PLEASE NOTE! We are repurchasing tickets until 30 September 2021.

Stage director Dmitry Bertman
Conductor Paul Mägi
Stage and costume designer Ene-Liis Semper
Suor Angelica Alexia Voulgaridou
Princess (Angelica's aunt) Larissa Kostyuk
Festival Choir
Estonian National Opera Boys’ Choir
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra 

Suor Angelica is a thought-provoking opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini. After the years of creative searches, Puccini finally completed three one-act operas in 1918: Il tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, among which the composer considered Suor Angelica to be the best one. The opera with a melancholic undertone tells the story about an upper-class woman Angelica whose greatest sin is having an illegitimate son. The opera focuses on the protagonist Angelica's sufferings, on human cruelty but also on redemption. The opera is set at the end of 17^th century in a convent; thus, nothing would suit better for performing in the ruins of Pirita Convent than this opera.

The team behind the directing and music of the opera is remarkable. Dmitry Bertman, a world-famous stage director, multiple Golden Mask Award laureate and artistic director of Helikon Opera in Moscow joined Tallinn Philharmonic Society. He will take over the position of artistic director of Birgitta festival from Risto Joost in 2021. Bertman has worked with various opera theatres all around the world and staged more than one hundred operas. He has been involved in Birgitta festival also earlier – in 2014, Bertman directed the opera gala dedicated to Eri Klas's 75^th birthday as well as repeatedly directed both in Estonian National Opera and Vanemuise Theatre. Helikon-Opera has also held performances in Birgitta festival.

Ene-Liis Semper is an artist with one of the most intriguing visual language in Estonia; yet, she designs sets and costumes of theatrical performances all over Europe. Semper and Bertman have collaborated in Estonia for several times, for instance in Erkki-Sven Tüür's opera Wallenberg and Charles Gounod's Faust. Anyone who has seen co-works by Semper and Bertman knows that this offers exciting experience and discoveries in all the new productions they work with.

Paul Mägi is a renown and acknowledged opera conductor whose repertoire includes both classical and contemporary operas. Mägi has worked all around the world – he has conducted Detroit Symphony Orchestra in USA, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Opera etc. From 2011–2020, he was the musical director and chief conductor of Theatre Vanemuine.

The main roles of the opera will be performed by internationally renowned opera soloists Alexia Voulgaridou and Larissa Kostyuk. Voulgaridou in the role of Angelica is a well-known singer and has performed for instance in the Royal Swedish Opera and Seattle Opera, USA.