A Brief Guide to the Finnish National Opera and Ballet

The Opera house is open Monday–Friday from 7.30 to 23.00. You must leave the Opera house by 24.00, otherwise you will cause an alarm.
Person responsible for the alarm is also responsible of its costs.
Lobby security guard contact information: +358 9 4030 2362, aula@opera.fi

The staff canteen Buffa (4th floor) is open Monday–Friday from 7.45 to 21.00, Saturdays from 9.45 to 18.00 and on performance days up until the end of the last intermission. To avoid queuing, it is advisable to purchase beverage and meal vouchers in advance in the canteen.

Hot meals are served Monday–Friday from 10.30 to 18.30, Saturday from 10.30 to 18.00.

Physical training room (gym) is situated in the 1K floor near the Ballet School studios. You can take the lifts H3 and H4 from the Mannerheimintie side.

The saunas are located in the 6th floor and are in use Monday–Saturday from 11.00 to 23.00.

Smoking is prohibited in the Opera House and the grounds of the property excluding at a location designated by the employer. The smoking area reserved for the staff and visitors is located on the Töölönlahti side of the building, at the end of the shelter.

The ban applies to all tobacco products, such as cigarettes, e-cigarettes and snus. Smoking is prohibited for staff during working hours. However, the prohibition does not apply to breaks during working hours in accordance with the collective agreement or agreed breaks. Breaks should not be prolonged due to smoking. Taking extra smoking breaks during working hours is not allowed.

Smoking is prohibited in costumes as well as in front-of-house and customer service uniforms.

All guests must be reported to the lobby security guard well in advance (preferably by e-mail at aula@opera.fi or by phone at +358 9 4030 2362) to allow enough time for printing the visitor badges. The host must meet the guests in the lobby, look after them throughout the visit and accompany them back to the staff lobby on departure. It is not allowed to bring guests to rehearsal spaces or to the stage.

All rehearsals (including the ballet’s morning classes) are mainly closed to outsiders. A permission to follow stage orchestra rehearsals can be given for good, exceptional and strong reasons. Permission slips are available at the opera office (4th floor, room 4.033) and ballet lobby (5th floor, next to the copy machine). The permission must be applied well in advance, two days before the rehearsal at the latest. Processed applications can be picked up from the opera office and the office of the assistant of the artistic director of the ballet. The approximate handling time for an application is one day.

Opera and Ballet has a whistleblowing channel where you may confidentially report suspected actions you have found out in your work duties that breach legislation according to the Notifies Protection Act and may harm individuals, the organization, or the environment.

Before submitting a notification, please read the instructions (pdf). Please also read the instructions for use of the whistleblowing channel (pdf).

You may access the whistleblowing channel here: https://oopperabaletti.eqs-integrity.org/

Please keep in mind that some people are allergic or physically affected (headaches, migraines, difficulty singing) by strong perfumes and fragrances. Please give everyone better air by leaving colognes, perfumes, fragrant lotions and strong deodorants etc when you come to rehearsals and performances. 

Staff lobby guard (available Mon-Sat 7.30-23.00), 0407768362, aula@opera.fi. In life-threatening situations, call 112 first. However, a trained security guard will provide assistance in both first aid situations and other threatening situations. Also notify the staff lobby guard if you notice, for example, people who do not have the right to be in the staff premises, suspect that your belongings have been stolen or your access token has been lost.

Security Manager Samuli Nuutinen, 0400908564, samuli.nuutinen@opera.fi

• Every employee has an access token that must be with them at all times.
• Do not let people in the staff premises who do not belong to the staff.
• Everyone has a duty to report any incidents or risks they observe. Notify your supervisor or security manager. You can also report safety observations via this open link.
• Every employee is covered by workers’ compensation insurance, with the exception of freelancers who work for their own company. Please note that workers’ compensation insurance is not valid during free time.
• For safety reasons, it is important that employees do not come to work sick.
• It is forbidden to work under the influence of intoxicants such as drugs or alcohol.

Safe working on stage requires each of us to familiarize ourselves with and commit to common rules and instructions.

• Remember that every employee has the right and duty to interrupt and stop activities to ensure safety at any time both during a rehearsal or the premiere night.
• You may only go to the stage at agreed times in the course of your duties. Peace for stage tech crew ensures everyone’s safety.
• Bringing relatives, friends etc. to the stage or staff premises is forbidden.
• During construction, build-up and take-down on stage, only technical personnel may be present on the stage. Everyone must wear a helmet and safety shoes.
• Everyone is obliged to inform the technical manager or stage manager if they observe dangerous situations or risks.

In the event of a fire alarm, the personnel follows the instructions and fire announcements. If the situation requires evacuation, the nearest emergency exits are used. For example, exit from the main stage through the loading dock. Lifts must not be used. In the event of an evacuation, the entire staff and audience will move to the Opera House’s assembly point, which is the Opera Plaza, Mannerheimintie side of the building.

First aid equipment

First aid equipment is widely available throughout the Opera House. On the main stage, first aid kits are on the front right and front left of the stage. The nearest defibrillator and spinal board are in the elevator corridor that is accessed from the back (left) of the stage. In Almi Hall, the nearest defibrillator and first aid kit are in the corridor behind the stage.

Accident in staff premises

Call the emergency number 112 immediately. Provide the emergency response center with the following information:

• Who you are and where you call from (Opera House, Helsinginkatu 58, Helsinki).
• Explain what happened.
• Let the response center know if people are at risk.
• Listen to the instructions you receive from the emergency response center and close the call only after you have received permission from the emergency response center.
• Take care of organizing the guidance for rescuers. Tell the emergency response center where the guidance will be arranged.

Accident on stage during a performance

If the accident occurs during a performance or stage rehearsal, report the incident immediately to the stage manager or the nearest tech crew member.

• repeated mudslinging of other person’s qualities, character traits or private life
• exclusion from the workplace community
• constant unjustified interference with an employee’s work
• shouting, berating, calling names, slander or making fool of a person
• physical violence or threat of violence
• improper exercise of managerial powers
• changing collectively agreed work duties on illegal grounds
• sexual or other gender related harassment

Any employee experiencing or witnessing such behaviour in the workplace is required to report it to the employer.

1. Urge the person guilty of improper conduct clearly and unambiguously that you do not
approve such behaviour and demand him/her to stop it.

2. Write down time and place, description of the situation and names of the persons
present during the incident.

3. Contact your immediate supervisor, the harasser’s supervisor or the supervisor’s
superior, if the harasser or person guilty of improper conduct is your own supervisor.

4. If the incident occurs during a production process and involves a freelance employee or
artistic assignment, notify the relevant producer, technical manager, security manager,
or artistic director.

5. Finnish National Opera and Ballet’s internal workplace mediators assist in conflict
situations if needed. You have a right to request workplace mediation at any point when
facing a conflict situation. Workplace mediators are neutral parties who are trained to
handle conflicts discretely. Coordinator of workplace mediation at FNOB is HR Manager
Hanna Fontana (+358407202320, hanna.fontana@opera.fi).