Waiting for Earthquake and The Trial in Louhisali in Espoo, the 5th of December, 2019

The Finnish Chamber Opera has taken as its task to produce new Finnish chamber operas, which se as the audience can only be happy about. In this autumn’s programme they have, in honour of their 30th anniversary, actually two new operas: ”I väntan på en jorbävning” (Waiting for Earthquake) by Uljas Pulkkis is based on Zinaida Lindén’s novel and “The Trial” by Paavo Korpijaakko is based on Franz Kafka’s novel. Both had the same working group and soloists. 

”I väntan på en jordbävning” tells a story about a Russian man, who has moved to Japan and is preparing for his first ever sumo wrestling match. He relives in his mind meetings with different people including the charming Taeko.

When I read Lindén’s book, I liked it a lot and in my opinion the opera did not quite reach the atmosphere of the book. Sure, a novel and an opera are very different things, so it is no wonder, that the works felt different. However, the music of the opera suited the theme. The main character – Gabriel Suovanen as Ivan Demidov – seemed to sing with caution and perhaps that also made me think that the opera did not made equally strong impression on me as the book. But I do have to say that Suovanen is in great physical shape; few opera singers would have been able to make as many push-ups as he did in between songs! Annami Hylkilä as Taeko was really good and I could have listened more of her singing.

Kafka’s ”The Trial” is also known to many. It tells about a man (Josef K.), who is accused of a crime that is never disclosed – even to him. So it is a story of a man, who is blindly facing an absurd situation.

The music of ”The Trial” suited the opera exceedingly well. If life is strange, the music cannot be straightforward either. The performers changed their characters by adjusting their clothes and the whole stage was a colourful kaleidoscope of reality. The dancer Janne Marja-Aho acted as the narrator of the story and he was superb. The director Vilppu Kiljunen gave him a chance to express the story with fascinating movements and versatile way of performing.

In ”The Trial” also Gabriel Suovanen let his voice loose and the person on stage was totally different from the singer that we saw before the intermission. The performance was racy and also the other soloists did their best (some better than others). All in all, I liked ”The Trial” better than the first opera and it was a nice end to the evening.

Waiting for Earthquake

The Trial