Prinsessa Cecilia

Väinö Raitio (1891–1945) was one of Finland’s musical modernists in the 1920s – praised but unperformed until the last couple of decades. Nowadays, his colorful orchestral works have become the focus of growing interest. This year, the Helsinki Festival started its concert programme with a one-of-a-kind performance of Raitio’s first full-length opera, Princess Cecilia (1933) – previously performed 81 years ago.