Third meeting: Changing the world

Juho, Milla and Itzam talking about the death of art.

Our third meeting took place on a Friday morning, exactly like last time. We have a thing for mornings. Juho, Itzam and I dragged ourselves from the comfort of our (separate) beds to once again enjoy Milla's baking. Fortified with coffee and bread (straight from the oven, yum!) we went through two new scenes of the libretto. The first is a perfectly beautiful dialogue between a person and a dog, and the second includes the aria partly filmed in the previous post.

Having gone through the formalities of long-term planning, dreaming of performances to come, and talking about grants, next meetings and other necessary things, we then moved on to more interesting fields. Milla gave us a passionate speech about the death of art. There are many problems young artists have to face trying to carve themselves a place in this crowded, economically challenged, ungrateful world. Getting people to see your work is one huge issue. Theater and classical music are obviously not as interesting to the common folk as they were a few hundred years ago, and something needs to be done about that. A major problem is the way arts are (not) present in schools. Children should have the benefit of being exposed to art more and in ways that are accessible to them, so that they could form their own opinions about it after experiencing it first hand. Another thing is the preconceptions people have about opera, theater, contemporary music, etc. This is not only the audience's problem - also artists themselves tend to have pretty fixed ideas of what their work should be like, where it should be presented, and to whom.

One of the modest goals of our opera is to try to change the world in this respect. It might not be a huge change, maybe not even a middle-sized one, but we want to take this performance extravaganza-to-be to schools, cafes, and all sorts of places where music, theater, art and excitement should be more present.

Always somebody dies

Here's a short video of Milla reading the beginning of an aria-to-be. For those who don't recognize the language: she's speaking Finnish, saying "always somebody dies". This dramatic start gives a good idea of what the monologue is about - a solemn reflection on the big questions of life. Taking place in a deserted bar, it's the most profound moment of the existing 4 scenes of our libretto. It is very serious indeed.

Second meeting: How Finns feel about trains

We met at Milla’s place. Not all of us were able to be there, though: poisoned by Unicafe, Itzam was throwing up at home, and Eljas had urgent plumbing business to attend to. So it was just Juho and the girls. That didn’t really lessen the excitement – Juho had written some sketches for the libretto and we couldn’t wait to hear what they were all about. Milla and Iida read them through to see how they’d sound. (Great.) Are you curious yet? Think about Finnish winter. Think about extreme cold, darkness, and ugly concrete buildings in the middle of nowhere. To this nowhere-place a person arrives on a train. This is the grand start of our libretto experience.

Here I’ve got to digress a bit:

To really appreciate the train scenario, you have to understand that the Finns have a very special relationship with trains. We have a state-owned railway company, VR, that has a monopoly in Finland. The prices are outrageous (to put it mildly), and the trains are very often late for various reasons. One of the reasons is snow. It snows every winter, and every winter VR is surprised by this strange phenomenon. Also many technical faults hinder the trains on their journeys across our dear country. Everyone knows someone who was in a train that got stuck for so long that the restaurant cart run out of alcohol.

The train station announcements are famous for their lack of foresight. ”The train to Kuopio will be delayed for five minutes.” You hear this and you think, alright, I can wait here, that’s not long. And five minutes later: ”The train to Kuopio will be delayed for another 10 minutes.” You’re annoyed, but you hold on. After four or five announcements like this, though, you start to have stronger feelings about trains, announcers, and life in general.

Probably the trains are not going to play a huge role in the opera, but. Anyway.

The libretto is progressing: Juho promised to bring more scenes to our next meeting, so the co-operation can really start. Now it’s mainly about Juho and Itzam working together to find the right balance between music and text – there are many things you have to think about when you’re writing something that’s going to be set to music. But more of that later.

Meet the Group: Juho

Juho is a 30-year-old dramaturge and playwright based in Helsinki. Originally from Vantaa, his childhood dream professions included being the president, an ice-hockey player, a clown and a writer.

In addition to this opera, Juho is currently part of the Finnish National Theater's project 'Routes to Kontula'. It consists of various performances, workshops and other art activities with the inhabitants of Kontula, a district in Helsinki. Read more from reittejakontulaan.blogspot.com.

- What's good and what's not-so-good about being a playwright?

In my profession I am officially allowed to be playful. My job includes both working alone and with other people, which is perfect for me. The biggest downsides are probably insecurity, unpredictability, competition, envy, and having to prove oneself all the time.. Also, the work is very personal - its up- and downhills can affect my state of mind very much, sometimes too much.

- What other interests or hobbies do you have?

Animals (especially cats),walking outdoors, music, movies and other arts. The world and society. Nature.

- Tell us something about yourself that others don't necessarily know!

Before getting into the Theater Academy, I have worked, among other things, as a classroom assistant, lawnmower, and as a publishing editor. 

If you want to know more about Juho (and/or his cat), write to us!

Meet the Group: Jenna

Photo: Anni Laukkanen

Jenna is a 25-year-old pianist who lives in Helsinki. As a child she wanted to be an accordionist, though. Currently Jenna is studying opera coaching in the Sibelius Academy and teaching piano in Keski-Vantaa music school. Rehearsing a solo concert program and some lied and chamber music keep her busy, but she manages to find time to write a seriously cool blog ;)

- What's good and what's not-so-good about being a pianist?

I love being on stage, even though it often scares me. And I really like accompanying singers. Practicing, however, can be so boring and frustrating at times.. Not to mention the constant worrying about money. But hey, it's a musician's life. Better marry rich.

- What other interests or hobbies do you have?

Books, food, knitting, crime and legal series, singing.

- Tell us something about yourself that others don't necessarily know!

I really enjoy singing pop, but most of the time I'm too ashamed to sing even at home.

Find more about Jenna from jennaristila.com.

Meet the Group: Itzam

Photo: Anni Laukkanen

Itzam is a 25-year-old composer from Mexico City, but as a child he wanted to be a footballer. Sadly, he broke his knee - an accident that also prevented him from playing the guitar - and so he turned to composition. Or as Itzam puts it, "when my childhood dream was over, my real life started".

Currently Itzam is writing a piece for his good friend Ella. The piece is for accordion, trombone and tuba. In March he's traveling to Louisville, Kentucky: his piece won a competition there, and will be performed by Talea ensemble. "Odd enough," Itzam adds, "the last time I was in the US was part of a football tournament, I was 10, and really wanted to be a football player."

-  What's good and what's not-so-good about being a composer? 

I like starting projects (like this opera!!!). The idea that out of nowhere something will be created is very encouraging, I've also managed to travel a lot thanks to making music. On the downside it can be psychologically very challenging to show your music: it's such a personal process that sometimes I feel like everybody can see me naked through my music. Also, during some periods of my life pasta with butter has been the best I could afford.

- What other interests or hobbies do you have?

I really like dancing. I'm more of a club dancer but now I'm taking some courses in contemporary dancing. I also have a bizarre addiction to pop culture - I consume a lot of sitcoms and bad movies as well as tons of pop music.

- Tell us something about yourself that others don't necessarily know!

I don't know how to ride a bike.

There's so much more to Itzam that you can discover from his website itzamzapata.com.