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Birgitta Festival 2024
Last Birgitta Festival took place from August 1 to August 11, bringing a diverse program to the audience once again. The festival opened with Claudio Monteverdi's baroque opera "Orpheus," which encompasses immense grief of loss, faithful love, and unprecedented musical power.
On August 5, Eino Tamberg's opera "Cyrano de Bergerac" was performed, taking the audience to 17th-century Paris.
On August 6, Olli Kortekangas's church opera "The End and the Beginning" was performed at the Tallinn Methodist Church. It is based on the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer from behind prison walls, merging deep thoughts and dramatic moods into captivating music on a summer night.
On August 7, a joint concert by Kadri Voorand's band and the vocal ensemble Estonian Voices presented enthralling melodies on themes such as love, hope, and nature.
The festival concluded with the "Pirita Mass" concert, featuring performances of Arthur Honegger's oratorio "Dance of Death" and Margo Kõlar's "Pirita Mass" amidst the historic monastery ruins, bringing together soloists, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and a 200-member choir.
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Birgitta Festival
The Birgitta Festival began in 2005 under the leadership and artistic direction of Eri Klas and evolved into Tallinn's premier musical highlight of the summer. Held amidst the ruins of Bridgettine Convent (Pirita klooster), the festival has featured the highest peaks of global talent and future greats who, for years to come, will remember the medieval walls towering in the sunset and the balmy summer evenings.
Each festival typically includes 6-7 high-level international performances and concerts, with past programs featuring artists from Argentina to South Korea.
Eri Klas was the artistic director from 2002 to 2016, followed by Risto Joost from 2017 to 2018. The 2019 festival was dedicated to maestro Klas's 80th birthday and was organized in cooperation with his like-minded colleagues. The festivals planned under the artistic direction of Dmitri Bertman in 2020 and 2021 were canceled due to restrictions from the spread of the coronavirus. Since 2022, maestro Tõnu Kaljuste has been the artistic director of the festival.
