Helsinki Festival

Folk musician, conductor, composer, guitar hero. Jukka Iisakkila has tried all of that – with flying colours. A new feather in his cap is the recent collaboration with guitarist Steve Vai.

The Helsinki summer season culminates with the Helsinki Festival, a longstanding multi-arts festival attracting a fairly established culture-loving crowd. The Festival’s overall multi-disciplinary approach is also present at the individual event level. This summer’s concerts pair music with dance, film and immersive theatre expression.

Kimmo Hakola writes about three opera performances at the Helsinki Festival 2015 and analyses the current state of the opera in Finland.