Finnish National Opera Suspends Performances Through February 28

The Finnish National Opera and Ballet has announced that performances will be suspended through February 28, OperaWire reports.

The company released a statement saying that they are obligated to suspend performances due to new regulations set in place.

All remaining Ring Cycle productions have been postponed. Die Walküre will now premiere in August 2022 while the last two installments will receive new dates in the coming weeks.

The company also announced the cancelation of its new production of "Swan Lake" and is looking to reschedule it for a later season.

Artistic Director Lilli Paasikivi noted, "The re-scheduling of The Ring productions will also result in major conductor changes. At this point, both Esa-Pekka Salonen and Susanna Mälkki will step down from the production. We're grateful to Susanna for her untiring work on the current 'Walküre' production and also to Esa-Pekka for his inspiration for this cycle. We are looking forward to keeping both these precious artists closely affiliated with our institution. The RING will now continue to grow in the experienced hands of our new Chief Conductor Hannu Lintu."

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