The Maiden of the North

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The young composer (c. 1898)

The Maiden of the North (in Finnish: Pohjan neiti) is an opera in three acts written in 1898 by the Finnish composer Oskar Merikanto. The piece was a collaboration with the Finnish author Antti Rytkönen [fi], the Finnish-language libretto of whom was based on a script by the Finnish opera singer Lorenz Nikolai Achté.[1] The opera tells a story from The Kalevala, Finland's national epic, in which the old wizard Väinämöinen and the blacksmith Ilmarinen, as rival suitors, vie for the hand of the beautiful Maiden of Pohjola; she is the daughter of Louhi, the villainous Queen of the Northland. Although rarely performed, The Maiden of the North retains a degree of historical significance as the first Finnish-language opera.

Composition

Merikanto wrote The Maiden of the North in response to an 1898 advertisement by the

Finnish Theatre would have been an obvious venue to premiere the work.[5]

Premiere

The Maiden of the North waited a decade for its first performance, which occurred in the

Helsinki Orchestral Society, and an amateur chorus comprising local singers and students from the Vyborg Church Music School. [6]
The cast included some of Finland's leading soloists, who created the following roles:

A scene from the 1908 premiere in Vyborg, with the soprano Mally Burjam-Borga as the Maiden and the baritone Abraham Ojanperä as her suitor, Väinämöinen.
Roles Voice type Premiere cast
(1908)[7]
The Maiden of the North, daughter of Louhi Soprano Mally Burjam-Borga
Annikki, sister of Ilmarinen Aino Halonen
Tuonetar, the queen of Tuonela Contralto Liisi Gussander
Louhi, the queen of Pohjola Mezzo-soprano Alexandra Ahnger
Ilmarinen, the blacksmith and god who pursues the Maiden Tenor Wäinö Sola [fi]
Väinämöinen, the wizard and demigod who pursues the Maiden Baritone Abraham Ojanperä
Pellervoinen Ferdinand Taberman
Ghost of Vipunen, a giant with magic spells Bass Oskari Kaakonkalvo [fi]

Notes, references, and sources

Notes

  1. ^ The Finnish Literature Society was executing the will of the Finnish businessmen Johan Daniel Stenberg [fi] and his wife Mathilda, who had died in 1880 and 1891, respectively. As patrons of the arts, they left money to fund the a competition to produce the first Finnish-language opera.[2]

References

  1. ^ Ketomäki 2017, pp. 272–273.
  2. ^ a b Ketomäki 2017, pp. 271.
  3. ^ Korhonen 2007, pp. 25, 29, 44, 60.
  4. ^ Ketomäki 2017, pp. 273–274.
  5. ^ Ketomäki 2017, p. 274.
  6. ^ Ketomäki 2017, p. 279.
  7. ^ Ketomäki 2017, p. 277.

Sources

  • Ketomäki, Hannele (2017). "The Premiere of Pohjan neiti at the Vyborg Song Festival, 1908". In Kauppala, Anne; Broman-Kananen, Ulla-Britta; Hesselager, Jens (eds.). Tracing Operatic Performances in the Long Nineteenth Century: Practices, Performers, Peripheries. Helsinki: Sibelius Academy. pp. 269–288.
    ISBN 978-9-523-29090-7
    .



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