Savonlinna Opera Festival’s new director Ville Matvejeff: “Opera is for the whole nation”

Ville Matvejeff plays the piano in Kerimäki church.
Ville Matvejeff will continue to hold the title of Artistic Director of the Savonlinna Opera Festival, but he will now have overall responsibility for the July festival. Archive photo.

The festival’s artistic director says that ensuring the continuity of the festival is an important task for the festival management at the moment. The Opera Festival is currently recruiting for a commercial director.

– When you look at our basic customer, opera is for the whole nation.

Matvejeff hopes that the word elitism will also resonate with positive connotations through quality. He compares opera to elite sport.

– The aim is to achieve the highest possible quality.

Artistic director, conductor Ville Matvejeff considers securing the continuity of the Opera Festival an important task.

– With the uncertain situation of the pandemic and the war, people’s behavior has changed, and purchasing decisions are made later.

A festival that depends on ticket revenue has to figure out how to get people to make a decision about buying an opera ticket in good time.

– There has been a lot of interest, and we have been recruiting as a silent search. We will probably be able to share more detailed news soon, says Matvejeff.