Narva Opera Days are held annually in August in the historic Kreenholm Manufacture territory, located on an Kreenholm island in the Narva River, which serves as the border between Estonia and Russia. As the most eastern opera festival in Europe, this event uniquely combines cultural heritage with modern creativity in a truly remarkable setting.
The Kreenholm Textile Manufacturing Enterprise, founded in 1857 and once the largest textile manufacturer in Europe, had a choir conducted by the grandfather of Georg Ots, one of Estonia's most beloved singers. Today, this deliciously historical environment hosts contemporary opera and ballet performances from Estonia and its neighboring countries. Each year, an open-air stage is specially built in the yard of the manufacture, while some performances are uniquely staged in the atmospheric rooms of abandoned buildings within the complex.
Narva Opera Festival is a meeting place of history and the present day, aristocrats and bohemians. The freshest breeze of world musical theatre flows through this abandoned industrial complex, where czarist airs, Soviet festivity, and present-day cosmopolitanism combine. Here, avant-garde boldness is interwoven with the finest traditions.
The festival also features world premieres of productions, family-friendly events, dance theatre, and performances that synthesize different art forms.
The festival’s visionary is Julia Savitskaja, a distinguished singer and recipient of the Ida-Virumaa Cultural Endowment Pearl Award in 2018. Since 2015, Julia has been the driving force behind the Narva Opera Festival as its initiator, chief organizer, and artistic director. In 2022, the city of Narva recognized her as a professional culture creator in the field of music, celebrating her outstanding contribution to the cultural landscape.
