Aulis Sallinen - The Horseman 'Ratsumies'. Opera in 3 acts (1975) 1.01. - 1.08. Act I. Easter in Novgorod [41'50]
1.09. - 1,13 / 2.01. - 2.03. Act II, Law court in Olavinlinna [41'41]
2.04. - 2.11. Act III, The Attack [43'05]
Antti. The Horseman 'Ratsumies' - Matti Salminen- bass-baritone;
Anna. His wife - Taru Valjakka- soprano;
Merchant of Novgorod - Eero Erkkila- tenor;
Merchant's Wife - Anita Valkki- alto;
Judge - Martti Wallen- bass; Woman - Tuula Nieminen- mezzo;
Yeoman - Usko Viitanen- baritone; Matti Puikkanan - Heikki Toivanen- bass;
Savonlinna Opera Festival Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Ulf Soderblom
Finlandia FACD101 [recorded by Finnish Broadcasting Company at the world premiere given in Savonlinna, Finland on 17 July 1975]
[CD-rip; flacs, booklet, cover and inlay scans]
The Horseman was premiered at the Savonlinna Opera Festival on 17 June 1975 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Olavinlinna castle and is the first of Sallinen's operas. Its libretto is by Paavo Haavikko and is replete with heavy symbolism and historical allegories. The work has been described as a timeless parable of a country and nation grounded between, and harried by, two mighty neighbours (Sweden and Russia), depicting the sufferings of individuals - speaking for the sufferings of a long downtrodden nation.
1.01. - 1.10. / 2.01. - 2.02. Act I. Prologue and Scenes 1 to 4 [73'18]
2.03. - 2.10. Act II. Scenes 5 to 7 and Epilogue [42'28]
Topi. A crofter - Jorma Hynninen- baitone;
Riika. His wife - Taru Valjakka- soprano;
Puntarpaa. An agitator - Usko Viitanen- tenor;
Simana Arhippaini. A pedlar - Jaakko Hietikko- bass;
Young priest - Erkki Aalto- bass-baritone;
Neighbours: Kaisa - Ulla Majala- alto & Jussi - Harri Nikkonen- bass;
Tiina - Helena Salonius- soprano; The vicar - Antti Salmen- tenor;
Raappana and Kunilla. A cobbler and his wife - Harri Tirkkonen & Iris-Lilja Lassila- spoken roles;
Epra. A man - Kauko Vayrynen- tenor; Pirhonen. A policeman - Tuomo Hakkila- bass;
First and Second Child - Susanne Helasvuo & Ilari Angervo- female & male sopranos;
Finnish National Opera Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Okko Kamu
Finlandia FACD102 [recorded at Kulttuuritalo Concert Hall, Helsinki, Finland on 8 - 10 November 1979 - recording engineer: Robert de Godzinsky]
[CD-rip; flacs, booklet, cover and inlay scans]
The Red Line 'Punainen viiva' is based on the 1909 novel by Ilmari Kianto (1874–1970). Tthe opera, like the novel, is set in 1907, a watershed year in Finnish history during which its first elections were held, leading eventually to Finnish independence in 1917. The libretto is by the composer. Grove notes the careful structuring of mood via the music with lyricism in the opening scenes, pastiche folk music where needed and a choral confrontation between the old (folk melody) and the new (revolutionary fervour).
1.01. - 1.05. Act I. Prologue and Scenes 1 to 4 [42'00]
1.06. - 1.09. Act II. Scenes 5 to 8 [32'42]
2.01. - 2.06. Act III. Prelude and Scenes 9 - 13 [53'10]
The Prince who later becomes the King - Tommi Hakala- baritone;
The Prime Minister - Jyrki Korhonen-bass;
The Nice Caroline - Riikka Rantanen- soprano;
The Caroline with the Thick Mane - Lilli Paasikivi- mezzo;
The Anne who Steals - Mari Palo- soprano;
The Anne who Strips - Laura Nykänen- alto; Guide - Jyrki Anttila- tenor;
English Archer - Herman Wallén- beritone; The Queen - Kirsi Thum- soprano;
Six Burghers of Calais: Tuomas Katajala & Jussi Myllys- tenor; Arttu Kataja- baritone;
Tuomas Tuloisela, Niklas Spångberg & Janne Sundqvist- bass; Froissart - Santeri Kinnunen- speaker;
Finnish Philharmonic Chorus, Tapiola Chamber Choir, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Okko Kamu
Ondine ODE 1066 [recorded at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland in April 2005 - recording engineer: Enno Mäemets; Producer: Seppo Siirala]
[CD-rip; flacs, booklet, cover and inlay scans]
The King goes forth to France is based on the novel of the same title by Paavo Haavikko, who also wrote the libretto, and was first performed on 7 July 1984 by the Savonlinna Opera Festival. Sallinen liked the ambiguous blend of tragedy and irony, wit and cruelty and began composing in the summer of 1980. The opera was jointly commissioned by the Savonlinna Opera Festival, the Royal Opera House London and the BBC. It is set during a future ice age and in the time of the Hundred Years' War.
1.01. - 1.10. / 2.01, - 2.03. Act I. Introduction and Scenes 1 to 3 [86'53]
2.04. - 2.10 / 3.01. - 3.05. Act II. Scenes 4 to 6 and Epilogue [72'10]
Kullervo - Jorma Hynninen- baritone;
Mother - Eeva-Liisa Saarinen- soprano;
Kalervo - Matti Salminen- bass;
Kimmo - Jorma Silvasti- tenor;
Sister - Satu Vihavainen- soprano;
Smith's young wife - Anna-Liisa Jakobsson- mezzo;
Hunter - Pertti Makela- tenor; Unto - Juha Kotilainen- baritone; Unto's wife - Paula Etelavuori- alto; Tiera - Marko Putkonen- bass; Blind singer - Vesa-Matti Loiri;
First and second men - Matti Heinikari- tenor & Esa Ruuttunen- baritone;
Finnish National Opera Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Ulf Soderblom
Ondine ODE 1258 [recorded at House of Culture, Helsinki, Finland in September 1991 - recording engineers: Robert de Godzinsky and Matti Heinonen; Producer: Seppo Siirala]
[CD-rip; flacs, booklet, cover and inlay scans]
Kullervo was commissioned by the Finnish National Opera and composed between 1986 and 1988. It was intended for the opening of a new national opera house in Helsinki, but building construction delays meant that the work was presented in Los Angeles as part of the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Finnish independence. The libretto is by the composer. The scenario of Sallinen's fourth opera is based on the Kalevala epic and the 1864 play by Aleksis Kivi. Sallinen described it as a very black story - the most Shakespearean story ever to exist in Finland but others have highlighted the love of Kullervo's mother, friendship with Kimmo, even humour from the hunter.
1.01. Overture [7'01]
1.02. - 1.04. Prologue, The Palace Hall, Morning - Scenes 1 to 3 [25'12]
1.05. - 1.09. Act I. The Palace Hall, three days earlier - Scenes 4 to 8 [33'40]
2.01. - 2.08. Act II. The King's private gardens - Scenes 9 to 16 [36'50]
2.09. Act III. The Palace Hall - Scene 17 [13'40]
The King - Veijo Varpio- tenor;
Constance - Jaana Mäntynen- soprano;
Valmonte - Sauli Tiilikainen- baritone;
Petruccio - Jorma Silvasti- tenor; Ossip - Tom Krause- bass-baritone;
Kitty - Ritva-Liisa Korhonen- soprano; Physician - lääkäri Pertti Mäkelä- tenor;
Pillow bearer - Lassi Virtanen- tenor; Keeper of the purse - Sami Luttinen- baritone;
Executioner - Mart Mikk- bass; Cuckoo - Matti Siitonen;
Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir and Orchestra conducted by Okko Kamu
Savonlinna Opera Festival SOJ 01 [recorded live at Savonlinna Opera Festival, Finland in July, 1995;
Recording engineer: Kari Tamminen; Producer: The Savonlinna Opera Festival. Also issued as Koch 3-6465-2]
[CD-rip; flacs, booklet, cover and inlay scans]
The scenario of Sallinen's fifth opera is loosely based on Mozart's 1781 singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and on Ryszard Kapuściński's 1978 book The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat. A satire of the collapse of a corrupt regime, The Palace deals with how authoritarian power is wielded and its debilitating effect on those near its centre, which forms a compelling need for them to escape and be free. In the end politics ruthlessly transfers power into new hands where it becomes just as absolute as before. A video of this production, with French subtitles, can currently be seen here.
01. - 05. Act I. Prologue and scenes 1 to 4 [85'25]
06. - 11, Act II. Scenes 5 to 10 [80'41]
12. Applause [1'04]
King Lear - Matti Salminen- bass-baritone;
Cordelia - Lilli Paasikivi- mezzo;
Goneril - Taina Piira- soprano;
Regan - Satu Vihavainen- soprano;
Albany - Petri Lindroos- bass;
Cornwall - Kai Pitkänen- tenor;
Gloucester - Jorma Hynninen- baritone;
The Fool - Aki Alamikkotervo- tenor;
Edgar - Sauli Tiilikainen- baritone; Edmund - Jorma Silvasti- tenor; France - Hannu Forsberg- bass
Finnish National Opera Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Okko Kamu
From Ondine DVD ODV4010 [recorded live at the Finnish National Opera, Helsinki in August 2002. Recording engineers: Pentti Lakksonen & Pertti Vikio; Producer: Aarno Cronvall]
[DVD-rip - PCM stereo audio track extracted to flacs using VLC media player; booklet, cover and back scans]
King Lear 'Kuningas Lear' was commissioned, and first performed by, Finnish National Opera on 15 September 2000. The libretto is by the composer, based on the Shakespeare play. Sallinen has spoken of the major thought that went into recreating the dramaturgy of the piece - shortening sections and deleting characters from the cast. His aim was in general to remove as much as possible of the narrative elements and mainly concentrate on the very strong poetical scenes.
Notes:
The files and booklet scans for the above six commercial issues of Aulis Sallinen operas have been kindly provided by MIMIC friend Dreamy with help from his amazing local public library and with additional help from friend Howard. The brief notes about the six operas have been gleaned from Wikipedia so may, or may not, be accurate.
Unfortunately some joins between the eight original DVD VOB files of King Lear 'Kuningas Lear' are slightly noticeable. For those who would like to download the DVD's video files (VIDEO_TS), Dreamy has kindly provided the download link.
Appendix: There is now a seventh Sallinen "opera":
Given its world premiere at the Savonlinna Opera Festival on 8 July 2017 (commemorating 100 years of Finland). The castle in question is, of course, Olavinlinna. The work is not an opera in the strict sense, but is described as "Chronicle in four parts for narrator, four singers, chamber orchestra and Olavinlinna".
Olavinlinna was built in the Middle Ages to secure the strategically important Savo area. Throughout its history, the castle has experienced numerous changes of power, the sound of a sword and the roar of cannons. This work was commissioned by the Savonlinna Opera Festival and tells about the colorful stages of Olavinlinna and the Saimaa lake region.
There is currently no commercial recording but apparently it was recorded and broadcast on television in Sweden and Switzerland shortly after the world premiere.
01. The Castle in the Water. Chronicle in four parts for narrator, four singers and chamber orchestra (2017) [87'40]
Jukka-Pekka Palo- narrator; Tiina-Maija Koskela- soprano; Tuija Knihtilä- mezzo; Jussi Myllys- tenor;
Tommi Hakala- baritone; Savonlinna Opera Festival Orchestra conducted by Ville Matvejeff
The only download that I have been able to find is an audio track from YouTube. I have included this mp3 file in the download folder as it appears to be from the same performance. If anybody knows of the availability of anything superior, please let us know.
Download audio files from MEGA.
Download video files for King Lear 'Kuningas Lear'.