Stages
Our stages
The Opera House has two stages, the larger Main Stage and the smaller Almi Hall stage. You can find out more about our stages and get useful tips for selecting your seat on this page.
Main Stage
The Main Stage auditorium has 1300 seats, which are on an upward slope towards the back. This raked seating means that the Swedish and English surtitles are not fully visible on the edges of the last row of the Stalls. You can hear and see the performance very well from the Balconies, too. However, the guard railing may restrict the view from the edges of the first row of the 2nd Balcony and the first row of the 3rd Balcony.
Please note that the 3rd Balcony is located very high up. We recommend that you choose your seat elsewhere if you are not fond of heights.
A hearing loop has been installed in the stalls of the Main Stage. You can see the accessibility map of the hearing loop here.
Where in the auditorium should I sit?
Click on the dots to see how the stage looks from different parts of the auditorium. If you want to see the performers’ expressions, costumes or the details of the sets, we recommend that you sit at the front of the Stalls. These seats are also ideal if you’re attending a performance with children. If, however, you prefer to see the big picture of what is happening onstage or like to focus on the music, Balcony seats are for you.
The Main Stage seats come in eight different categories. These are determined by the view and acoustics, distance from the stage, potential guard railings, and factors depending on the director’s choices. This means that the most affordable seats may have a restricted view of the stage, and there may be seats in the same price category in different parts of the auditorium.
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Almi Hall
The repertoire of Almi Hall comprises everything from full-length operas to shorter pieces for children and guest performances. Depending on the performance, the hall seats 200–500 people. Almi Hall has been named after the long term General Director of the Finnish National Opera, Alfons Almi.
Accessible seats
The wheelchair accessible seats in the Main Stage auditorium are located in Boxes 3 and 4 of the 1st Balcony and Boxes 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the 2nd Balcony. There is a lift to the 1st and 2nd Balconies, but the Stalls and the 3rd Balcony can only be reached via stairs. All the stairs have railings.
There are accessible seats in Almi Hall, too, and the accessible entrance to the hall is via a dedicated lift. You can see the location of the lift on the foyer layout map.
Please note that you can’t buy accessible seats in the online store. You can reserve accessible seats by calling the Finnish National Opera and Ballet customer services on +358 9 4030 2210 (Mon–Fri from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or by emailing us at liput[at]opera.fi.
You’ll find more information about an accessible visit to the Opera House here.
Foyer layout map
See the services and layout maps of the public spaces at the Opera House. You can also open our maps in pdf format, allowing you to view them in a larger size.
