Alma! – a kinetic opera
A collaboration between composer Minna Leinonen, choreographer-director Petri Kekoni and librettist Hanna Weselius, Alma! is a kinetic opera for a group of singers, dancers and musicians. This interdisciplinary piece marks the first commissioned work for the CHANGEnsemble company helmed by Jutta Seppinen.
In a layered narrative connecting the past and the present and the eternal power struggles between people, Alma! examines the life of composer Alma Mahler side by side with the modern-day Lawyer and an artist named Aino.
”Why can’t I take the world in my hand like sand or a smooth stone shaped by the ocean. Oh why, why can’t I gently caress, with the soft palm of my hand, this skin, this light, this room, this world?”
The wildly intelligent and intelligently wild Alma! rings true in the present-day world, depicting individuals as complete beings with all their inner complexities and contradictions. At the same time, it tears down and ridicules the hierarchical structures that surround us.
”You should be writing music yourself, goddammit, instead of organizing Gustav’s scherzos and allegros!”
Alma! is an enchanting and breathtaking amalgam of fact and fiction, late Romanticism, contemporary music, literature, dance and stage drama. While giving room to dreams, beauty and the myriad manifestations of love, it also deals with the universal need for connection.
”We belong together for a time that isn’t measured in lifespans, years, or even weeks, not in days nor hours. We belong together for a time that is measured in seconds.”
Libretto Hanna Weselius based on Alma! novel
Composition Minna Leinonen
Choreography and director Petri Kekoni
Conductor Jutta Seppinen
Sound design Jussi Suonikko
Costume design Ella Kauppinen
Lighting design Jonne Nieminen & Sari Mayer
Performers
Soprano Tuuli Lindeberg ja Olga Heikkilä
Flute Hanna Kinnunen
Viola da gamba Mikko Perkola
Percussion Ville Syrjäläinen
Piano Fanny Söderström
Dance and soprano Suvi Eloranta
Dance Anniina Kumpuniemi, Mari Rosendahl, Samuli Roininen, Esete Sutinen
Produced in co-operation Dance Theatre MD, Petri Kekoni Company, CHANGEnsemble and Tampere Biennale.
Supported by
Suomen Kulttuurirahasto
SKR:n Pirkanmaan rahasto
Sibelius-rahaston Pegasos-apuraha
Advance photo Ville Hautakangas
Thank you Hatanpään kartano
Performance photos Ville Oinonen
Multitalented conductor-singer Jutta Seppinen is one of the powerhouses of the Finnish music scene. As a conductor, she has worked with virtually every major player in Finland, including the Helsinki City Orchestra, the Tampere and Turku Philharmonic Orchestras and numerous choirs. Equally at home as a contemporary mezzo-soprano, Seppinen is the founder and artistic director of the interdisciplinary arts company CHANGEnsemble, and also the artistic director of the Female Voice Choir Lyran.
Contemporary dance trailblazer Petri Kekoni has a unique approach to movement material, resulting in groundbreaking, visually striking works that are simultaneously complex and simple, earning him the nickname The Architect of Dance. Mainly working with his Petri Kekoni Company as choreographer and artistic director since 2007, Kekoni’s credits include more than 20 acclaimed works, such as The Green Armchair (2002/2010), Miniatures (2013), Erratic Block (2018) and 369° (2019).
Hanna Weselius is an author and a university lecturer in photography residing in Helsinki. Her literary debut Alma! (2016) was the winner of both the Helsingin Sanomat and the Tulenkantaja prizes. Her second novel will be published in the fall of 2020.
Composer Minna Leinonen is often inspired by things outside of music – everyday life, literature, natural phenomena and cultural heritage. Her works have been performed around the world by such companies as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and the International Contemporary Ensemble (New York), as well as by numerous Scandinavian groups and musicians. Leinonen is currently finishing her doctoral thesis at the Sibelius Academy and works under a one-year grant from the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
Jussi Suonikko is a musician and music technologist whose work history covers practically every aspect of record production. Born in Helsinki, Suonikko currently works at the Tampere Music Academy as a systems expert and teacher of music technology.
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