Gustav Vasa in Helsinki Music Centre, the 3rd of March, 2018

Helsinki Baroque Orchestra started in Helsinki Music Centre their set of newly found old operas with Leopold Koželuch’s opera Gustav Vasa. This opera has been last performed 200 years ago, when the composer himself was still alive. It was an interesting mixture of live performance and video screening, where the orchestra played in the middle, the Helsinki Chamber Choir sang on the left and the soloists mainly on the right in front of a green background screen. The soloists performed in front of a camera and the video was shown on three screens (video design Emil and Artur Sallinen). It took me a while to get used to the fact that there was something interesting to look at everywhere.  But the videos brought nice extra elements to the performance. Personally I liked best the creation of the dungeon on the background of the opera, but also bringing Helsinki Music Centre to the screen in the beginning and in the end of the opera was a nice touch. I was least enthusiastic about the “Ikea commercials”, though I suppose they did stress the importance of Gustav Vasa in the birth of Sweden as a state. Costume design by Reija Laine was also really good.

Solely based on this opera I am already looking forward to the next newly found old operas, because Koželuch’s music made a great impression on me. Helsinki Baroque Orchestra and Aapo Häkkinen played beautifully this versatile opera; the first and third act began with fury, when the second act sounded soft and beautiful. Koželuch had created especially stunning ensemble scenes in the opera. The female only ensembles in the first act were especially spectacular. I also liked the Helsinki Chamber Choir’s performance a lot.   

This time the biggest impression to me was made by the female soloists. Helena Juntunen as the mother of Gustav Vasa, Cecilia of Eka was excellent. She is a truly protean performer. When I was looking at her performance as the widowed mother of Gustav Vasa, I couldn’t help remembering her as the young girl in Autumn Sonata last autumn. Incredible that one person is able to create two so different roles. Martina Janková sang beautifully the role of Christina Gyllenstierna. Her full-bodied soprano was a pleasure to listen to. Monica Groop as Margareta Vasa completed the trio (even though she did not have a lot of solo singing). Last but not least of the ladies, Tuuli Lindeberg as the Guardian Angel of Sweden was divine.  When she started singing from the balcony, the white dress sparkling in the lime light, she truly looked and sounded like an angel. Cornelius Uhle in the role of Christian II did an interesting performance. The tone of his baritone was intriguing and in the videos he was definitely made to look as a true tyrant.

The opera has still two performances left: on Tuesday the 6th of March and on Saturday the 10th of March (this performance will be shown in Finland also direct on Yle Areena) and tickets are available through https://www.ticketmaster.fi/.