Leevi Madetoja
Juha - Opera in Six Tableaux
Finnish Radio Youth Choir
Jussi Jalas, conductor
Kai Airinen, tenor
Eero Erkkilä, tenor
Kristina Haartti, alto
Margareta Haverinen, soprano
Jorma Hynninen, baritone
Maija Lokka, soprano
Maaria Metsomäki, soprano
Kalevi Olli, bass
Tapani Valtasaari, bass
Anita Välkki, alto
Merja Wirkkala, soprano
2 CDs; booklet with liner notes and synopsis in English and Finnish, and the libretto in the original Finnish and in English
CD
Released:
May 1988
Catalogue No.:
ODE 714-2
EAN/UPC Code:
0761195071427
This double CD contains one of the great Finnish national operas, Juha, composed by Leevi Madetoja in 1934. The libretto by Aino Ackté and Leevi Madetoja is based on the novel of the same name by Juhani Aho. The realistic and psychological drama centres on a couple living in the eastern part of Finland, Juha and Marja, the latter of whom gets seduced by the wayfaring trader Shemeikka.
The recording was originally produced by the Finnish Broadcasting Company, TV 1 in 1977. Ondine released this digital remix in 1988.
The cast includes
Jorma Hynninen: Juha
Maija Lokka: Marja, Juha's young wife
Eero Erkkilä: Shemeikka, a prosperous Karelian peddler
Anita Välkki: Juha's mother
Margareta Haverinen: a hired girl on Juha's farm
Tapani Valtassari: the vicar
Merja Wirkkala: Shemeikka's summer sweetheart
Maaria Mestomäki: Maiden I
Kristina Haartti: Maiden II
Kai Airinen: Man I
Kalevi Olli: Man II
