Tuesday 13 February 2018

An Opera about the Finnish Civil War!

Thanks to Dr. Raija Warkentin, author and professor emeritus of Anthropology at Lakehead University, I learned about the premiere of an opera about the Finnish Civil War this coming Friday, in Finland.

Entitled VELJENI VARTIJA, which translates as "My Brother's Keeper," the opera is about a brother and sister who end up on opposite sides of the war. The title, of course, refers to the story of Cain and Able in Genesis.

There's a little more about the opera, composer, and librettist at the Shuniah House Books website.  The website of the concert hall, Tampere-Talo, has even more.

Stories, whether in books or operas or any other art form, are helpful for talking about difficult subjects--and this is a good year to tell this story it in.

Best wishes to the company on the premiere of this work!