SAVITRI
Gustav Holst’s
(despite his name, an English composer) opera’s performance in the park of
Snellmania Building of the Helsinki University makes you feel good. Holst
composed Savitri in 1909, but the first performance took place only in 1916 in
London. The opera is only about half an hour long and there are three soloists,
in addition to whom there is a small chorus of women and a tiny orchestra.
Holst meant his opera
to be performed in the nature or in a small venue, so Snellmania Park was an
excellent choice for it. Since the park is surrounded by buildings, there is
good acoustics and the music got an excellent background (except for one seagull,
who decided to protest against its competitor in the beginning of the opera). The
director of the performance was Juulia Tapola and without doubt the relaxing
atmosphere of the evening was seen also in the fact that the director was serving
Indian tea to the audience before the opera: a really nice way to make
listeners feel good.
The setting was simple:
a few blankets and a chair, but they served nicely as a stage and the costumes
were most suitable. Laura Pyrrö had brought her saree from her latest trip to
Delhi. Jouni Kokora’s Death looked amazing in blue paint. I happened to arrive
at the same time with him to the park and I did blink a few extra times when I
saw a blue man walking along Snellmaninkatu towards the gate. A great start for
a nice evening!
The opera is based on
an Indian story about an intelligent wife who cheats death and manages to
awaken her husband from death. The singers did well in my opinion and I was
especially impressed by Jouni Kokora’s dramatic role. When Death in the
beginning solidly sings (without accompaniment) that he is death, the dramatic
impression despite the beautiful summer evening is rousing.
There is still one
performance left in the evening (the 20th of June), so it is worth
hoping that the rain will be over and go and see this engaging little opera.
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