Finnish National Opera

Helsinki, Finland

In 1918, the company of the Domestic Opera (now the Finnish National Opera) took up residence in the old Russian Alexander Theatre on Bulevardi in Helsinki. A project to build a dedicated opera house was proposed in the 1920s, but the house on Töölö Bay, Finland’s first, did not open until 1993. It is, in any case, a special one to be sure; nearly all of the furniture and lighting fixtures were custom‐designed for the Opera House, and its open and festive conception is one‐of‐a-kind.

The Finnish National Opera House was designed by the Hyvämäki‐Karhunen‐Parkkinen architectural team in 1977. The elevations are finished in ceramic tile and natural stone, while the public spaces inside combine the lucidity of Carrara marble with the glow of red beech. The great glass wall of the main foyer opens out towards Töölö Bay and shimmering, verdant Hesperia Park.

Address

Finnish National Opera, Helsinginkatu 58, PO Box 176
, 00251 Helsinki, Finland, Google Maps