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Countdown to opera!

Die Kalewainen in Pochjola -operas worlds premier is right at the corner.

The world premiere of a rediscovered opera composed by Karl Müller-Berghaus over 120 years ago sees its light at 28th of February at Logomo, Turku. Kalewainen is the first through-composed opera based on the Kalevala and also by far the most ambitious musical work written in Finland in the 19th century. The opera is jointly produced by the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and the Turku Music Festival and forms part of the centenary celebrations of Finland's independence in 2017.

In this document, opera researcher Elke Albrecht enlightens the history of the Kalewainen Opera and operas based on the Finnish epic – Kalevala. What was the music culture like in 1890s Turku? Why did a German composer, Karl Müller-Berghaus, choose the Finnish epic as a subject for an opera? Why is the premiere in 2017 when it was composed over 120 years ago?