Finnish National Opera

As arts institutions for all Finns, the National Opera and Ballet offer opera and ballet performances and other events for all ages. Visiting performances, school operas, performance recordings and live broadcasts, as well as television and radio broadcasts, take the activity all over Finland and the world.

In terms of staff, the Finnish National Opera and Ballet is a medium-sized opera and ballet house. There are approximately 550 monthly paid employees from 33 countries. There are 58 opera singers in both soloist and choral roles, 86 dancers and 104 orchestra musicians. In addition, a large number of both domestic and foreign visitors are heard and seen at the performances. The opera house also employs top experts in various crafts, from cobblers to metal workers.

There are usually four new opera premieres and three ballet premieres every year. When works that were previously included in the program are also performed, the program of the Opera and Ballet changes every week, and over the course of the year, up to dozens of different works are seen. In addition to well-known classics, new opera and dance, as well as domestic novelties in particular, are performed.

The operation of Finland's only professional opera began in 1911, and the ballet was founded in 1922. For a long time, the small Aleksanteri theater was the venue until the current modern Opera House was opened in 1993. There are more than 1,300 seats in the grandstand of the main stage, in addition there is a small stage in the building, the Alminsali. The warm spaces are also used for small-scale performances and free events.