Approaching the castle, we felt as if we were joining a medieval procession. Ushers were guiding opera-goers down the cobbled streets and over the bridge which earlier that afternoon had swung open to allow us to sail into Savonlinna.
This is one of the world’s most unusual music festivals. It takes place every July in the 15th-century Olavinlinna fortress on an island in Finland’s south-eastern lake district.
Traditionally, the seating has verged on the medieval, too. Less a case of the princess and the pea, more of hardcore opera buffs willing to sit on wooden benches or hard chairs for three or more hours. But these days, while you still file up the maze of stone staircases to the auditorium, you find softer chairs, improved views of the stage and an awning offering protection from downpours – all of which were added last year to make the event more accessible.
This summer’s programme includes, appropriately enough, a double bill of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Outi Tarkiainen’s A Room of One’s Own – a combination of the Hungarian’s symbolist operatic drama and Virginia Woolf’s most feminist work. The other operas are Romeo and Juliet, The Magic Flute and The Barber of Seville, with a musical, Fiddler on the Roof, and a pop concert by Katie Melua as more mainstream offerings. All make full dramatic use of the all-enveloping thick stone ramparts that seem to echo a protagonist’s torments in a way no opera house can match.
The festival is unique, but for another one-of-a-kind experience, this is also the place to try a lake cruise.
Finland has nearly 200,000 lakes, and Savonlinna proved a good starting point for a cruise, given the comfortable four-hour ride on a doubledecker train from Helsinki, which boasts a children’s play area as well as a restaurant car. Once you arrive, everything is in walking distance, including the string of craft on the quayside.
There are 15 cruises from Savonlinna, which run mostly from June to August. They range from short €15 trips and dinner cruises to multi-night stays. You can choose to travel on a historic steamship or a motor cruiser, or one of the newly added electric eco boats.
My parents and I took one of the more traditional craft for a two-day round trip heading northwards. Inside the comfortable salon we sat down to coffee and pastries and gazed out at the landscape. At times we were cruising through narrow, rocky channels. At other times we could scarcely see the shore.
Lake Saimaa has 14,000 islands, many dotted with summer houses painted in traditional red and white. As the sun came out so did swimmers, tentatively climbing down ladders on the jetty before hurrying back to saunas to warm up again.
Lunch was a simple, inexpensive salmon dish, and while eating we scanned the horizon for our fellow fish-eaters: seals. The Saimaa ringed seal is one of only three species of freshwater seal, left there by the ice age. As late as 11,000 years ago a sheet at times nearly two miles thick covered the country, creating this fissured landscape of ridges and channels.
Soon the tempting aroma of an early supper wafted into the cabin, as the tower of Kuopio, with its revolving restaurant, came into view. This gives a bird’s-eye view of a landscape where in summer one day merges into another and time appears to stand still.
If you want a change on the return route, you can sail to the Orthodox monastery at Valamo. Or you can break your journey at Savonlinna with visits to nearby attractions such as Punkaharju, a spit of land that is home to Lusto, the surprisingly fun forestry museum. It reveals how Finland is pioneering sustainable practices in the forests that cover nearly four-fifths of the country. Or visit Kerimäki, which has the world’s largest Christian wooden church.
You can also combine the cruise with a bike ride – the Kerma canal to Savonlinna route is popular. Many boats carry bikes for an extra €10 or so. Finland’s right to roam gives you the freedom to enjoy most outdoor pursuits regardless of who owns the land, as long as you stay a reasonable distance from people’s houses.
It is this connection with nature that Finns say has put them at the top of the world’s happiness report for six years running, with Finnish doctors saying just 15 to 20 minutes in the mossy forest – roamed by bears, elk, wolves and lynx – lowers blood pressure and improves mood.
Back in the boat all was calm, even when we were navigating the rapids that threatened to engulf the fishers, up to their thighs in water, and kayakers, who like ducklings followed their leader into locks. Even sturdy tugs pulling kilometre-long islands of timber behind them seemed to be reduced to a standstill by the current.
After such tranquillity, returning to the relative hustle and bustle of Savonlinna felt almost overwhelming. A soprano was performing the daily afternoon recital in front of the harbourfront restaurants – a call back to a more scheduled life. I had time for a dip from one of the many sandy beaches into Saimaa’s clear dark waters, just like its seals. Then I hurried back to the hotel, which like many in Finland comes with an en suite sauna, before it was time for another immersion: a cultural plunge with a different thrill into our next opera.
The Savonlinna opera festival runs from 1 to 30 July. From Helsinki you can take the train to Savonlinna, changing at Parikkala. For more details see visitfinland.com