Die Frau ohne Schatten

So Marjaana (Bonnier Finland's CEO) is not only a trailblazer in the publishing industry but also a genuinely cool person. When I first arrived she asked me about the things I was hoping to do while in Finland, amongst my answers was going to the Finnish National Opera (pictured above). This past Friday for the last performance of the season (mid-summer recess begins) Marjaana got us great tickets to see Richard Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman without a Shadow). The 4 hour opera is considered by many today to be one of Strauss's most complicated and colorful scores, both musically and scenically.

The story itself has been interpreted endlessly from all kinds of perspectives including psychoanalysis. As a quick summary of the "basic" plot: An Empress learns about the human condition firsthand after being commanded by her father (the god Keikobad) to obtain a 'shadow' and the ability to bear children within three days. To save her husband from being turned to stone, with the help of her Nurse, the Empress descends from a spiritual realm to entice Barak the Dyer's wife to exchange fertility for riches...and then all the craziness ensues. It was a great show, but I'll be the first to admit the happy ending got a bit drawn out. Okay you're all happy and in love again... okay cool sing about it... we get it... one more love song... more happiness...okay enough already.

One of the coolest things was at the very end after our hands were starting to go numb from applauding everyone... they called an older gentlemen on stage who came up from the orchestra pit with his cello. After 46 years with the Finnish National Opera this was his last show before retirement. The announcement was greeted by roaring applause from within every corner of the opera house.

Anyways after the show we went out and I met some of Marjaana's friends and had another all around awesome night in Helsinki.