Opera Lesna

Opera Lesna, the Forest Opera, is an open-air amphitheatre set among the wooded hills above Sopot at ulica Moniuszki 12. It seats several thousand under a modern canopy and is best known as the home of the Sopot International Song Festival. As a concert venue it dates back to 1909.

The setting is the point. Rows of seats rise up a slope surrounded by tall trees, so an evening here feels like a concert in the forest rather than in a hall. The best way to see it is at a performance, but the amphitheatre and the walk up through the woods are worth the trip in daylight too. It suits music fans and anyone who wants a break from the seafront in green surroundings.

Performances in this forest clearing began in 1909. Between the wars the venue built a name for opera, with Wagner staged regularly, and Sopot was sometimes called the Bayreuth of the North. After the Second World War its focus shifted to popular music, and from the 1960s it became the stage for the Sopot festival, one of Poland's best-known music events. A large tensile canopy was added in a later renovation, which lets the venue run whatever the weather while keeping the open-air feel.

The season runs across the warmer months, peaking with the summer festival and a run of concerts. That is when the place comes alive, though tickets for the big nights sell fast. Outside events, a daytime walk up to see the amphitheatre and the woods works at any time of year. Evenings can turn cool under the trees even in summer, so bring a layer.

The amphitheatre is uphill, west of the centre, among the trees that edge the Tricity Landscape Park. From Sopot's SKM station it is a walk of fifteen to twenty minutes, mostly uphill, or a short bus ride. On event nights there are extra services and signs from the town. For details, see the Sopot guide.

The Forest Opera sits in the green upper part of town:

• The Tricity Landscape Park, the wooded hills and trails all around it.
• The Hippodrome, the racecourse on the flatter ground below.
• The pier and beach, back down at the seafront.

Performances began in the forest clearing in 1909. The venue has hosted opera, and later popular music, ever since, with a modern canopy added in a later renovation.

It is the Sopot International Song Festival, a long-running music event staged at the Forest Opera. From the 1960s it made the amphitheatre one of Poland's landmark concert stages.