Tuomiofest debuts in Tampere with 70‑singer midnight forest opera

Tampere will host a new one-day Tuomiofest on Saturday 5 September, centred on Bistro Vilja and the Hatanpää arboretum and culminating in a late-night 70-singer forest opera. The festival is organised by the experimental mixed choir Tampereen Ihankaikkinen Taivaallinen Tuomiokuoro and the Väki choir, and will spotlight choir members’ solo projects as well as collective works, Aamulehti reports.

Choir director and composer Petra Poutanen, who moved her ensembles and music school Uulu into the historic Hatanpää villa this summer, says the festival grew from a long-held idea and the convenient proximity of Bistro Vilja. Only 200 tickets will be sold to keep the atmosphere intimate. Space is limited.

The programme begins at 17:00 inside Bistro Vilja and on an outdoor stage. Audiences will be guided into the arboretum at 22:30 for an hour-long staging of Yöpuolia, a narrative forest opera based on Samuli Paulaharju’s novellas and directed by Antti Laukkarinen.

Yöpuolia had a shortened outdoor staging earlier this year at Ikurin Virelä the earlier Ikurin Virelä staging.

Attendees are advised to bring a folding chair or a waterproof ground cover for the outdoor section. Organisers hope to make Tuomiofest a recurring event at Uulu’s Hatanpää home.