Each venue has a story behind it. Especially when it comes to an old limestone quarry, which can host concerts.
We are talking about Dalhalla which is located in Rattvik, Sweden, and is literally inside a rock!
The venue mainly hosts opera performances, due to its natural acoustics.
However, there are many rock bands that have appeared on its stage, with the most recent being Deep Purple, Judas Priest, and Hammerfall.
The story of Dalhalla
For a long time, the municipality of Rättvik was looking for a suitable place to be able to organize summer festivals.
It was then that former opera singer Margareta Dellefors discovered the perfect place in 1991.
An inactive limestone quarry deep in the forest, just outside the city.
Almost immediately she realized the potential of the quarry to turn it into a music scene.
The location was perfect! Away from a residential area, without noise pollution from main roads, and away from the industrial area.
In June 1993, the first test concert took place.
The first official concert took place in 1994 and the official opening took place on June 21, 1995, with the performance of a major opera.
In the fall of 1999, the stage and seating area was rebuilt to increase capacity from 2,600 to 4,000.
The remodeled stage officially opened in the summer of 2000.
The acoustic…
Acoustic measurements confirmed an unusually low noise level at the bottom of the quarry.
The sound test also confirmed that the tall, almost vertical rock walls produced a very good resonance without the annoying echo.
With its acoustically designed stage and the audience sitting in the Dalhalla amphitheater, it can be compared to the classic stages in Ancient Greece and Italy.