Forest Opera in Sopot

In the Oliwa Forest, on the edge of Sopot, lies one of the largest open-air amphitheatres in Europe. The Forest Opera in Sopot has more than 5,000 seats, excellent acoustics and over a century of history: before the war it was called the "Bayreuth of the North", and since the 1960s it has been the stage of the Sopot Festival. Johnny Cash and Whitney Houston have both performed here.

History: from Waldoper to song festival

Construction began in April 1909 on the initiative of Sopot's mayor Max Woldmann and the conductor of Gdańsk's municipal theatre Paul Walther. The first performance — Conradin Kreutzer's opera "Das Nachtlager in Granada" — was staged on 11 August 1909. From 1924 an annual Wagner festival modelled on Bayreuth took place here, with an orchestra of about 130 musicians and a choir of up to 500 singers; conductors included Max von Schillings and Erich Kleiber. After the Nazis came to power the programme was increasingly politicised, and in 1939–1943 the amphitheatre also hosted rallies of the Hitler Youth and the KdF organisation. The last wartime performance, Wagner's "Siegfried", was given on 11 August 1944.

In the early 1960s the auditorium and stage were roofed over. The International Song Festival, founded in 1961, has been held at the Forest Opera since 1964, with a break during the martial-law years (the venue was closed until summer 1984). In 1977–1980 it also hosted the Intervision festival, broadcast across the Eastern Bloc.

What to see

• The auditorium with 5,047 seats — with the front sections folded away, a total of 5,579 standing and seated places.
• The stage, 19 m deep and 430 m² in area; the orchestra pit holds a 120-piece orchestra.
• The 4-hectare grounds on the edge of the Tricity Landscape Park.
• The concert hall from 1997 with 300 seats, home of the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Sopot.

Did you know?

On 22 August 1987 Johnny Cash performed here with his family, and exactly 12 years later, on 22 August 1999, Whitney Houston gave her only concert in Poland. For the centenary, on 20 July 2009, Wagner's "Das Rheingold" was performed here in full in concert for the first time since the 1930s. A thorough modernisation ran from 2009 to 2012. Today's calendar includes the Sopot Festival, the Polsat SuperHit Festival (since 2015) and Sopot Classic (since 2011).

Tripto tips

The Forest Opera is on al. Franciszka Mamuszki, a 15-minute walk or so from Monte Cassino Street; the Szymbark Hills tourist trail runs nearby. The venue is operated by the Baltic Artistic Agency BART. Outside events the amphitheatre is often closed, so check the event calendar and buy a ticket for a performance. On concert days the surrounding streets are crowded — it is best to walk or take the SKM commuter train to Sopot station. Evenings in the forest can be cool even in summer, so bring a warm layer.