Online Operas during Corona Lockdown

Here is a list of online opera performances I saw on Facebook, and felt this is something everybody (interested in opera) should know about!

Today also my bilingual children opera "Vickan & Väinö" was recorded for being broadcast later this spring! Sharing that with you as soon as it comes out!

But for now:

Metropolitan New York

https://www.metopera.org/

3.4 Les Pêcheurs de Perles

4.4 Macbeth

5.4 Norma

6.4 Aida

7.4 La Fanciulla del West

8.4 Falstaff

9.4 Parsifal

10.4 Gounod: Roméo et Juliette

11.4 Don Pasquale

12.4 Cosi fan tutte

Bayerische Staatsoper München

https://www.staatsoper.de/

Lucia di Lammermoor until the 8th of April

Parsifal until the 11th of April

Boris Godunov 18th of April to the 2nd of May

L’elisir d’amore 4.-18th of April

Die Frau ohne Schatten 11.-25th of April

Komische Oper Berlin

https://www.komische-oper-berlin.de/

8.4 Pelléas et Mélisande

18.4 La Bohème

1.5 Jewgeni Onegin

Deutsche Oper Berlin

https://www.deutscheoperberlin.de//de_DE/home

2.-4.4 Tristan und Isolde

4.-6.4 Fidelio

6.-8.4 Cimarosa: Die Heimliche Ehe

8.10.4 Aribert Reimann: Die Gespenstersonate

10.-12.4 Don Giovanni

12.-14.4 Don Carlos

14.-16.4 Carl Heinrich Graun: Montezuma

16..18.4 Wolfgang Rihm: Oedipus

Staatsoper Berlin

https://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/de/

03.04.2020 »Hippolyte et Aricie« Jean-Philippe Rameau

04.04.2020 Staatskapelle & Barenboim spielen Brahms

05.04.2020 »Così fan tutte« Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

06.04.2020 »Tannhäuser« Richard Wagner

07.04.2020 Staatskapelle & Barenboim spielen Brahms

08.04.2020 »Tristan und Isolde« Richard Wagner

09.04.2020 Staatskapelle & Barenboim spielen Bruckner

10.04.2020 »Parsifal« Richard Wagner

11.04.2020 Barenboim & Staatskapelle spielen Beethoven

12.04.2020 Staatskapelle & Barenboim spielen Bruckner

13.04.2020 »Parsifal« Richard Wagner

14.04.2020 »Violetter Schnee« Beat Furrer

15.04.2020 »Die Verlobung im Kloster« Sergej Prokojew

16.04.2020 »Der Rosenkavalier« Richard Strauss

17.04.2020 »Der Spieler« Sergej Prokofjew

18.04.2020 Barenboim spielt Beethoven-Klaviersonaten

19.04.2020 »Manon« Jules Massenet

Royal Opera House Covent Garden London

https://www.roh.org.uk/

Acis and Galatea, The Royal Opera, 2009 – 3 April 2020, 7pm BST

Così fan tutte, The Royal Opera, 2010 – 10 April 2020, 7pm BST

The Metamorphosis, The Royal Ballet, 2013 – 17 April 2020, 7pm BST

Gloriana, The Royal Opera, 2013 – 24 April 2020, 7pm BST

The Winter’s Tale, The Royal Ballet, 2014 – 1 May 2020, 7pm BST

The Salzburg Easter Festival

https://www.osterfestspiele-salzburg.at/videos-1833.html

Die Walküre, 2017, Available: 4 April, 12:00 to 6 April, 12:00

Otello, 2016, Available: 6 April, 12:00 to 8 April, 12:00

Cavalleria rusticana, 2015, Available: 8 April, 12:00 to 10 April, 12:00

Pagliacci, 2015, Available: 10 April, 12:00 to 12 April, 12:00

Arabella, 2014, Available: 12 April, 12:00 to 14 April, 12:00

Parsifal, 2013, Available: 14 April, 12:00 to 16 April, 12:00

Guest Lecture at the University of Helsinki

There is a first for everything - yesterday was a first for giving a guest lecture at the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Helsinki! Pics or it didn't happen!

Photos by Hannah Kaihovirta

I talked about my educational repertoire - my three children operas Dumma Kungen, Djurens planet and Vickan & Väinö and about the challenges that have to be taken into account when composing educational material. I also talked about what my work as a composer is like and played a recording of my orchestral piece Tundo!. All the students were very focused the whole 90 minute lecture and asked enlightening questions. Big thank you the University of Helsinki for this opportunity and for inviting me!

Photo by Hannah Kaihovirta

New York debut!

It's Monday and a new exciting week is here; including two performances of my opera Djurens planet, in Oulu and Viitasaari and my first piece ever played in the USA! My friend Matti Pulkki will give my solo accordion piece "Shapes" it's US premiere on Tuesday at 7:30 PM at ASF + Scandinavia House! He is also going to give a lecture about writing for accordion (also including talking about "Shapes") at the Manhattan School of Music on Thursday! Friends in New York, hope you can go! I would if I could!

Nostalgia Lane

Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy. Its pedagogy strives to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical skills in an integrated and holistic manner. The cultivation of pupils' imagination and creativity is a central focus.

I'm very happy I was given the opportunity to go to a Steiner school for all my basic education 1995-2008. We did a lot of theatre and it's now 20 years ago that I wrote music to one of our first plays "Ronja Rövardotter", that time aged 11. I got the opportunity to paint, do wood work, internship on an organic farm, biology trip to Lapland, cultural class excursion to Portugal... to name only a few things during my 13 years.

But the best part was of course to be part of a idealistic school full of wonderful people whom I since then can call friends, real friends.

And idealism has stayed with me as much as with the Steiner school, so I was very happy to get the opportunity today to watch classes 5&6 from the Helsinki Steiner School perform "Djurens planet", a opera about treating animals and other humans well, at the Finnish National Opera. A lot of things change with time, but some things never do - let's keep trying to make this world a better place. ❤️

Photo by Marthe Veian

Djurens planet autumn 2019

Happy world opera day to everyone! After seven great performances of my third children opera "Vickan & Väinö" by Opera Box Helsinki it's time to head next week to The Finnish National Opera for more performances of my second children opera "Djurens planet"!

Photo by Heikki Tuuli

Most inspiring story of last week: my friend has a 2 year old daughter who saw my opera Djurens Planet last spring. The 2 year old daughter likes the scene of the dragon (which she calles "Kra Kra") so much that she wants to watch it everyday from an iPad! 😍 Hearing that makes me feel like my job does make a difference after all. ❤️

Photo by Heikki Tuuli

Djurens planet more performances coming up again in the following weeks!

29.10 at 6 PM, Children from Granhultsskola, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera

30.10 at 6 PM, Children from Rudolf Steinerskolan i Helsingfors, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera

31.10 at 6 PM, Children from Mårtendalsskola, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera

1.11 at 6 PM, Children from Grännässkolan, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera

4.11 at 6 PM, Children from Hyvinge svenska skola, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera

5.11 at 6 PM, Children from Boxby skola, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera

7.11 at 6 PM, Children from Mikaelsskolan, at Sigurd Snåre Salen, Ekenäs

12.11 at 6 PM, Children from Oulun normaalikoulu, at Oulun normaalikoulu, Koskela

14.11 at 6 PM, Children from Haapaniemenkoulu, at Haapaniemenkoulu, Viitasaari

19.11 at 6 PM, Children from Svenska samskolan i Tammerfors, at Svenska samskolan i Tammerfors, Tampere

21.11 at 6 PM, Children from Vatialan koulu, at Monitoimihalli, Kangasala

26.11 at 6 PM, Children from Björneborgs svenska samskola, at Björneborgs svenska samskola, Pori

28.11 at 6 PM, Children from Kristinestads skola, at Kristinestad

Photo by Heikki Tuuli

Premiere week!

Today's HS – Helsingin Sanomat tells us PREMIERE WEEK is here! New bilingual children opera  Vickan & Väinö set up by Opera BOX at Helsinki Aleksanterin teatteri! TERVETULAO! VÄLKOMMEN!

Music by yours truly
Libretto & stage directing by Marina Motaleff-Kelly
Scenography & costume design: Tarmo Tanttu
Soprano: Hedvig Paulig/ Anna Sandström
Tenore: Ville Salonen/ Topias Lundell
Barytone: Markus Nieminen/ Aku Rantama
Accordion: Janne Valkeajoki

Performances:
17.10.2019 at 10 AM
17.10.2019 at 12 PM
17.10.2019 at 6 PM

18.10.2019 at 10 AM
18.10.2019 at 12 PM
18.10.2019 at 6 PM

19.10.2019 at 1 PM

WELCOME! VÄLKOMMEN! TERVETULOA!

Debut at the Finnish National Opera

Debut at the Finnish National Opera done! What an incredible journey it has been! From being commissioned in February one year ago, seeing Monica Vikström-Jokela create a wonderful story about sustainability and animal right from the ideas by the children at Åshöjdens Musikklasser involved in the process, composing the 45 minute opera last autumn, seeing Anna Kontek create a whole own visual world for the opera together with lights by Vesa Pohjalainen and seeing Martina Roos work with each person on the cast for making them perfect in character on stage! Two intense weeks of stage rehearsals, an OUTSTANDING premiere and two performances! How empty life feels after this wonderful emotional journey! Looking so much forward to hearing more performances next autumn again! 

Damström: Djurens planet. Photo by Heikki Tuuli

THANK YOU everyone involved! It has been such a pleasure to work with everyone in the production and in the cast! Thank you Elli Vallinoja and Katariina Heikkilä for putting your heart in the role of the child Joy! Thank you Saara Kiiveri and Hedvig Paulig for finding your inner dog for making the dog Jack as real as possible on stage! Thank you Riku Pelo and Tiitus Ylipää for making each of your three roles with as much effort and ease! Thank you Anna Schultz and Anna Nora for supervising 43 children and teaching them a whole opera of music! Thank you Martin Segerstråle and Tuomas Juutilainen for correpetition as well as outstanding shows and together with Anna Nora conducting the whole show! Thank you Taavi Kiviranta and Otto Kentala for putting yourself into my music! Thank you all 43 children from Åshöjdens musikklasser for dedicated work! Thank you Timo Mokkila, Tero Riipi and Petri Peltovako for making all technique on stage work! 

Damström: Djurens planet. Photo by Heikki Tuuli

Thank you to all my friends and family who came and saw the show and shared this important experience with me! It meant so much to me to see so many familiar faces in the audience!

Damström: Djurens planet. Photo by Heikki Tuuli

Thank you to the sponsors who have been one of the main reasons this all happened in the first place: Föreningen Konstsamfundet, Svenska kulturfonden, Svenska kulturfonden i Björneborg, Stiftelsen Brita Maria Renlunds minne, Svenska folkskolans vänner and Stiftelsen Tre Smeder. Also a big thank you to all wonderful articles and radio programmes that have been written and made about Djurens planet!

Damström: Djurens planet. Photo by Heikki Tuuli

And last but not least: a big thank you to the Finnish National Opera for this enormous opportunity to write an opera for you! Thank you Tuula Jukola-Nuorteva, Lauri Pokkinen, Lilli Paasikivi and Gita Kadambi for your trust and support! It has been a pleasure!

Damström: Djurens planet. Photo by Heikki Tuuli

#DjurensPlanet

All photos by Heikki Tuuli