The Bayreuth of the North: A Journey Through Sopot’s Forest Opera
Helena Hołod guides us through a century-old amphitheatre where nature, acoustics, and music history converge in the heart of a Polish forest
By Ged Brown, Founder and CEO of Low Season Traveller
It’s a crisp October morning in Sopot, and I’m standing at the entrance to what can only be described as one of Europe’s most enchanting music venues. The Forest Opera, or Opera Leśna as it’s known in Polish, sits nestled in a magnificent forest just a short walk from the Baltic Sea. As the autumn leaves paint the surrounding trees in shades of gold and amber, Helena Hołod, my guide for the day, greets me with a warm smile and an impressive collection of keys.
“This whole story started in 1909,” Helena begins as we walk through the grounds, “when Paul Walter Schaeffer, who was a theatre director in Gdańsk, came to this area searching for a place with great acoustics so he could create an open-air amphitheatre. He found it here, and then the whole process of building began. It wasn’t just Schaeffer though. Max Waldmann, who was the mayor of Sopot, helped him bring this vision to life.”
What strikes me immediately is how old this concept is. When I read about the Forest Opera on my itinerary, I’d assumed it was a relatively recent creation. The idea of an outdoor opera house in a forest seemed almost contemporary, perhaps something from the 1960s or 70s. But 1909? That’s genuinely remarkable.
A Century of Music in the Woods
“It wasn’t that unusual at the time,” Helena explains, reading my surprise. “There were similar facilities around Germany back then, because Sopot was part of the German Empire at that time. So it was something new here, but in other parts of Germany, it was quite common. However, most of those open-air amphitheatres, which corresponded to the Greek tradition, are gone now. We are, I think, one of the few that stayed in this place, only transformed over the years. But the natural acoustics are still the same.”
The venue began functioning in the same year construction started, and it was an immediate success. “In the first years, mainly Wagner was performed,” Helena tells me. “You can see from old photographs that most of the work they had to do was removing trees. But the natural features are the same as they were. The trees probably aren’t the same ones, but the valley is. And the seating was originally wooden, of course. In those first years, they changed the scenography and stage design every year. They built new sets each season.”
The Forest Opera earned itself a prestigious nickname over the decades. “We became known as the ‘Bayreuth of the North’ because of the Wagner Festivals,” Helena says with evident pride.
Stars, Scandals, and Stolen Yachts
As we walk through the backstage area, the walls are adorned with photographs of legendary performers. Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie, Bryan Adams, Elton John, Simply Red, Ricky Martin. The list is staggering. “We’ve had all the stars here,” Helena confirms. “Next year we’re going to have Sting in June, plus Bryan Adams, UB40, Lionel Richie again.”
But not every performance has been a triumph. Helena shares one of the venue’s most infamous moments. “Whitney Houston was one of the biggest failures in the music history of events in Poland. She came late, very late. She performed only two or three songs and was complaining about how cold it was. Everyone who was excited to see her, who’d seen her on TV, they were devastated. It’s funny to have visitors, especially older people, coming here and still having strong emotions about that.”
“When was that?” I ask, incredulous.
“1999. And people still ask, ‘Was she really that bad?’ Apparently so.”
There are other colourful stories woven into the Opera’s history. “One time in 1997, someone thought that giving a yacht as a prize would be a good idea. The yacht was stolen and never found. Nobody knows what happened to it, but there were many funny stories like that.”
The venue hosts an impressive programme these days. “This year we have around 33 major concerts. They’re very, very different. There are pop events, but we still have operas here within the Baltic Opera Festival, and Sopot Classic, and many others. The whole season is very diverse.”
The Magic of Natural Acoustics
Helena leads me through the backstage corridors, past dressing rooms that can accommodate up to 200 performers at once. “When we have music festivals going on, each artist or band performs maybe two songs maximum, and then they change for another. So there are plenty of artists performing during those festivals.”
“Sounds logistically challenging,” I observe, imagining the chaos of constant changeovers.
“It’s not really,” Helena laughs. “They prepare in the dressing rooms, they can have coffee here, and when it’s five or ten minutes before their moment, they go upstairs and wait. In the first years of the festivals, as my friends told me, when artists were having drinks before, during, and after concerts, it was more complicated. Now artists are more professional, I would say. They don’t come drunk, so it’s not difficult to find them.”
We emerge onto the stage, and the view takes my breath away. The amphitheatre stretches before us, a vast bowl carved into the hillside, surrounded by towering trees. Even empty, it’s magnificent.
“Is there something special about a forest with regards to acoustics?” I ask.
“It’s the forest and also the land, because we’re surrounded by hills,” Helena explains. “You’re in a kind of bowl. What’s great about being a music venue surrounded by forest is that it’s a very unique experience for people who come here. They have the music, but in the open air with this forest. Some artists use it as their natural scenography. For example, we had this Scandinavian band with horns, and they were making sounds with the forest, and the whole audience joined in. It was very good to have the forest around for that.”
Standing on the stage, I can immediately sense what she means. “You can tell that the acoustics absolutely travel,” I say, speaking in a relatively loud voice. “I could imagine speaking here and everyone would be able to hear without microphones.”
“Yes, exactly,” Helena agrees. “But when people are seated, they also absorb sound. During rehearsals, the sound is more technical. Then when people are seated, the same sound setup sounds much softer because the people are also part of the performance.”
A Year-Round Destination
The Forest Opera isn’t just a summer venue. “We welcome visitors year-round,” Helena tells me as we walk through the grounds. “We have around 120,000 guests at music events each year, plus around 40,000 visitors who just come to walk around, see the displays, and relax. Our TV audience this year was 12 million because we had two music festivals plus one other music event that was transmitted by television.”
The venue’s capacity is impressive. “We’ve got 5,047 seats in total,” Helena explains. “But during the festivals, I think around 7,000 people are here because everyone appears from somewhere. VIPs, production team members who aren’t actually working. A lot of people have IDs that allow them to be here, but they didn’t buy seats.”
One of the most charming features is the orchestra pit. “We still have a place for the orchestra to sit,” Helena says, pointing to the area in front of the stage. “The whole construction can be removed, and underneath is a pit where I think 60 to 80 musicians can fit. But it’s rarely used, maybe two or three times during the season, only for the Baltic Opera Festival and Sopot Classic. For other events, we have very different equipment, like machines that shoot flames or confetti.”
The Low Season Experience
As we continue our tour, Helena shares insights about visiting during the quieter months. “This is also a place filled with nostalgia for our visitors during the low season. This is where they can say, ‘Oh, I remember that performance,’ or ‘I remember that artist.’ It’s amazing.”
The venue takes on a different character when the concerts aren’t running. “We have a chill-out zone with wooden tubes that amplify the sounds of the forest,” Helena explains. “When it’s warmer, in April for example, you can come here and sit in those tubes, lay down, read a book. You can hear the beautiful sounds of the surrounding forest. It’s very popular.”
The wildlife adds to the charm. “We’ve got very rich wildlife here. Plenty of squirrels and birds, and one fox family. There are four foxes. One of our security guards, an older gentleman, can tell which squirrel is from which family. He’s given them names. He’ll call out to them and give them nuts, and they come. He’s like a squirrel whisperer.”
I laugh at the image. “How do you know he’s telling the truth? Maybe he’s making it up.”
“I totally believe him because it works,” Helena insists. “During this time of year, they’re our biggest companions here.”
The location itself is remarkable. “On a day like today, I just think it’s so gorgeous,” I tell Helena as we walk through the grounds. “All these trees, and at this time of year, the colours are stunning. I hadn’t been prepared for how green Sopot is. When you hear about Sopot, you hear about the beach, but there are so many trees.”
“Two weeks ago, Sopot was awarded the title of healthiest city in Poland,” Helena responds proudly.
The Temperature Challenge
One practical consideration for visitors is the temperature. “It’s also very cold here during events,” Helena warns. “Not because it’s actually that cold, but we’re elevated, and the surrounding forest regulates the temperature and humidity of the air. So it’s always a little bit colder here than in the lower parts of Sopot. The temperature difference is about four degrees. People come up from down there wearing what they thought was appropriate, and sometimes they’re cold. You can always tell which guests are returning visitors because they bring blankets with them.”
I think back to a recent experience. “The last time I was at an open-air concert was in Edinburgh last year. I brought my daughters to see Taylor Swift. It was so cold. She had to stop in the middle of her acoustic set because she said her hands were frozen.”
“I believe your daughters liked the concert though,” Helena says with a knowing smile.
“Oh God, they loved it. They’re typical Swifties, obsessed. But it was freezing.”
Beyond the Main Stage
The Forest Opera complex includes more than just the main amphitheatre. “Our company operates four venues,” Helena explains. “This Forest Opera is one. The Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra building is the second, where we have smaller concerts for 200 to 300 people. We also have the At Theater next to the beach, and the fourth one is M8, also a building directly on the beach where we have smaller concerts, events for children, educational programmes, conferences, and fine dining events. So we’ve got those four beautiful places, two in the forest and two in the lower part of Sopot.”
Recently, they’ve opened the club under the stage to the public. “During the first festivals, it was a place only for artists performing,” Helena tells me as we descend into the atmospheric space. “They were here before concerts, during concerts, and after concerts, drinking and drinking and drinking. Now, this year, we opened it to people from outside. We’re going to have small events here, team events, maybe connected to the festivals. We renovated this whole place this year. You can do a lot of different setups. Sometimes people sit and there’s a dance floor, sometimes we have buffet food in the centre and people walk around, and twice it was just everyone dancing.”
A Living Legacy
As our tour concludes, I’m struck by how the Forest Opera represents something rare: a venue that honours its past whilst remaining vibrantly alive in the present. It’s owned by the City of Sopot but operated by a company on a renewable 20-year lease, ensuring professional management whilst maintaining public ownership.
“Most people in Poland know the Forest Opera from TV,” Helena tells me. “If you ask anyone about the Forest Opera, they know it from television mostly.”
But there’s something about experiencing it in person, especially during the low season, that television can never capture. The way the autumn light filters through the trees. The sound of leaves rustling in the forest. The sense of history embedded in every corner of this remarkable amphitheatre. The knowledge that for over a century, this forest bowl has resonated with music, from Wagner to Whitney Houston, from classical opera to contemporary pop.
“We’re not the biggest venue anymore, not even in the Tri-City,” Helena admits. “But we’re still the most charming. And back when those big stars performed, it was the only large music venue we had. So it was very special that those big stars performed here.”
As I prepare to leave, taking one last look at the empty amphitheatre surrounded by forest, I understand what she means. The Forest Opera isn’t just charming. It’s magical. And in the low season, when the summer crowds have gone and the forest reclaims its quiet majesty, that magic is even more potent.
Forest Opera (Opera Leśna)
12 Stanisława Moniuszki St
81-829 Sopot, Poland
Tel: +48 58 555 84 00
Fast Facts:
- Capacity: 5,047 seated (expandable to 5,579 with standing areas)
- Orchestra pit: up to 120 musicians
- Small stage: 1,000 capacity
- Chamber venue: 200-300 capacity
- Annual Visitors: 120,000 at music events
- 40,000 sightseeing visitors
- 12 million TV audience
- Guided Tours: Available year-round
- Includes main stage, small stage, open-air exhibition, acoustic installation, and backstage areas
- Season: Peak season: May to September
- Around 33 major concerts annually
- Year-round guided tours and events
- Known as the “Bayreuth of the North”
- Founded 1909 • Over a century of music history
- 4 hectares in the heart of Sopot’s forest
