The Festival takes place at the medieval Olavinlinna (St. Olaf’s Castle), built in 1475. The castle is located amid spectacular lake scenery.

The Savonlinna Opera Festival has grown into an internationally recognised festival lasting a month. Each year it performs to a total audience of around 60,000, an estimated quarter of whom come from abroad. Each year the Festival has, in addition to staging leading works from classical operatic repertoire, staged its own productions.