imported>Tassedethe: organizsd→organized - toolforge:typos

2025-06-28T21:35:42Z

organizsd→organized - toolforge:typos

New page

{{Short description|Open-air theatre in Sopot, Poland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox venue
| name = Forest Opera
| image = Opera Leśna Sopot - PTFE membrane roof.jpg
| caption =
| location = [[Sopot]], Poland
| coordinates = {{coord|54.4448|18.5444|type:landmark_dim:500|display=inline,title|format=dms}}
| mapframe-zoom = 12
| opened = July 1909
| renovated = 2009–2012
| seating_capacity = 5,047
| owner =
| promotions =
| website =
}}
'''The Forest Opera''' ({{langx|pl|Opera Leśna}}, {{langx|de|Waldoper}}) is an open-air [[amphitheatre]] located in [[Sopot]], Poland, with a capacity of 5047 seats, the orchestra pit can contain up to 110 musicians.

==History==
Built in 1909 ([[Kingdom of Prussia|when the location was part of Germany]]), the amphitheatre is used for various entertainment events and shows, including [[opera]] performances and song festivals. After World War I and almost till the end of World War II it was a place of operatic festivals (''Zoppot Festspiele'') and Sopot was recognised throughout Europe and frequently labelled as ''the [[Bayreuth]] of the North''. During that time, mostly [[Wagnerian]] operas and his [[music drama]]s were performed regularly each year.

After World War II the [[Baltic State Opera]] held few performances each year at the Forest Opera between 1962 and 1977 (''[[Aida]]'' in 1962, ''[[Halka]]'' in 1964, ''[[Der Zigeunerbaron]]'' in 1965, ''[[Swan Lake]]'' in 1968, ''[[Die Fledermaus]]'' in 1977), and sporadically outside this range (''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' in 2000).

Each year, starting from 1964 (only interrupted during the [[Martial law in Poland|1981–83 martial law era]]), the [[Sopot International Song Festival]] takes place at the Forest Opera, events being organized by the Ministry of Culture and Art in cooperation with the Polish Artistic Agency (PAGART). It was a music event transmitted to the [[Eastern bloc]] countries via television. Since 2017, [[TVN (Polish TV channel)|TVN]] has been the producer of the festival.

The Forest Opera hosted the 1991 edition of the [[Miss Polski]] beauty pageant on 19 July 1991, and was also the venue of [[Whitney Houston]]'s only live concert in Poland, held on 22 August 1999 as part of her ''[[My Love Is Your Love World Tour]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://rozrywka.trojmiasto.pl/Czy-to-pamietasz-Whitney-Houston-w-Sopocie-Wystep-o-ktorym-mowila-cala-Polska-n94695.html | title=Czy to pamiętasz? Whitney Houston w Sopocie. Występ, o którym mówiła cała Polska | date=25 September 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://muzyka.interia.pl/wiadomosci/news-20-lat-od-wystepu-whitney-houston-w-sopocie,nId,3160549 | title=20 lat od występu Whitney Houston w Sopocie }}</ref> On 28 June 2001, the [[Munich Philharmonic]] Orchestra under [[James Levine]] gave a concert at the Forest Opera.

An attempt was made to reactivate the [[Sopot Wagner Festival]] on the 100th anniversary of the Forest Opera's creation (20 July 2009), with the special event of a single concert performance of ''[[Das Rheingold]]'', conducted by Jan Latham-Konig – for the first time since the end of the 1930s. The announced intention of the organizers is staging the remaining parts of ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' in Sopot (including some of them in the Forest Opera) within the next few years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dziennikbaltycki.pl/zloto-renu-wagnera-w-operze-lesnej/ar/143861|title="Złoto Renu" Wagnera w Operze Leśnej|date=21 July 2009|website=Dziennik Bałtycki|accessdate=8 April 2022}}</ref>

From September 2009 until June 2012 Sopot Forest Opera underwent extensive renovation and modernization.

== Performances in ''Zoppot Festspiele''==
[[File:Plakat Erstes Zoppoter Waldfestspiel 1909.JPG|thumb|right|Poster of the First (1909) ''Zoppot Waldfestspiele'']]
{{Div col}}
* 1914: ''[[Der Freischütz]]''
* 1921: ''[[Fidelio]]''
* 1922: ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]''
* 1924: ''[[Die Walküre]]''
* 1925: ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]''
* 1926: ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]''
* 1927: ''[[Götterdämmerung]]''
* 1928: ''[[Parsifal]]''
* 1929: ''[[Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg]]''
* 1931: ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (the cycle without ''Das Rheingold'')
* 1932: ''Lohengrin''
* 1933: ''Tannhäuser''
* 1934: ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' and ''Die Walküre''
* 1935: ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' and ''[[Rienzi]]''
* 1936: ''Parsifal'' and ''Rienzi''
* 1937: ''Parsifal'' and ''Lohengrin''
* 1938: ''Lohengrin'' and ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (whole cycle)
* 1939: ''Tannhäuser'' and ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (whole cycle)
* 1940: ''Tannhäuser'' and ''[[Der fliegende Holländer]]''
* 1941: ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg''
* 1942: ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' and ''Siegfried''
* 1944: ''Siegfried''
{{Div col end}}

== Sources ==
''The Bayreuth of the North'' by Einhard Luther, in ''Opera'' (Autumn, 1966), 7.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090719034227/http://bart.sopot.pl/strona/main/%26lang%3Den BART Artistic Agency]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.bart.sopot.pl/wer_eng/forest_opera.html The BART Forest Opera]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211194314/http://www.bart.sopot.pl/wer_eng/forest_opera.html |date=11 February 2012 }}.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080518001318/http://www.sopot.net/attractions/forestopera.htm The Forest Opera in Sopot] (archived)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927100845/http://sabaoth.infoserve.pl/danzig-online/zoppot/wagnere.html Zoppoter Waldoper: Wagner's operas in Zoppot] (archived)

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Amphitheaters]]
[[Category:Opera houses in Poland]]
[[Category:Resort architecture in Pomerania]]
[[Category:Sopot International Song Festival]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Sopot]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Pomeranian Voivodeship]]
[[Category:Music venues completed in 1909]]
[[Category:1909 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:Culture of Pomeranian Voivodeship]]

Forest Opera - Revision history

imported>Tassedethe: organizsd→organized - toolforge:typos