Aulis Sallinen
Jorma Hynninen, kullervo
Eeva-Liisa Saarinen, mother
Matti Salminen, kalervo
Jorma Silvasti, kimmo
Finnish National Opera Chorus
Finnish National Opera Orchestra
Ulf Söderblom, conductor
(Previously released as ODE 780-3T)
Listen to samples on selected tracks.
This triple CD contains the two-act opera Kullervo by Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen who also wrote the libretto. Derived from the Finnish national epic Kalevala and from the play Kullervo by Aleksis Kivi, it tells the story of the magician Kullervo, the ill-fated son of Kalervo and the only irredeemably tragic character in Finnish mythology.
Sallinen wrote his fourth opera between 1986-1988 on commission from the Finnish National Opera. Prior to the world première - which took place in Los Angeles in February 1992 with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Finnish National Opera Choir and soloists lead by Ulf Söderblom - this recording was produced in Helsinki in collaboration with the Finnish National Opera and in the presence of the composer in September 1991.
The cast includes
Jorma Hynninen: Kullervo
Eeva-Liisa Saarinen: Kullervo's mother
Matti Salminen: Kalervo, Kullervo's father
Jorma Silvasti: Kimmo
Satu Vihavainen: Kullervo's sister
Anna-Lisa Jakobsson: Smith's young wife
Pertti Mäkelä: hunter
Juha Kotilainen: Unto
Paula Etelävuori: Unto's wife
Marko Putkonen: Tiera
Matti Heinikari: 1st man
Esa Ruuttunen: 2nd man
Vesa-Matti Loiri: blind singer
3 CDs; booklet with liner notes and synopsis in English, German and Finnish, and the libretto in the original Finnish and in English
This re-release marks the production of the opera at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in July 2014. Previously relased as ODE 780-3T.
Baritone Jorma Hynninen is one of the most highly appreciated Finnish vocal artists of all time. His unprejudiced and profound approach to art has contributed not only to a renewal in the art of interpreting solo songs but also to the creation of a number of new contemporary operas. In Lied, he has concentrated on the song cycles of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Wolf and the solo songs of Sibelius, Oskar Merikanto, Toivo Kuula and Yrjö Kilpinen. He has appeared at innumerable distinguished venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, the Musikverein, the Concertgebouw, Boston Symphony Hall, Chicago Symphony Hall and the festivals at Tanglewood, Ravinia and Salzburg.
Matti Salminen is one of the leading basses of our time. Born in Turku (Finland) in 1945, he was educated in his home town, at the Sibelius Academy Helsinki, as well as in Italy and Germany. From 1972-1980 he was engaged at the Cologne opera. In 1972 he appeared for the first time as a guest in Zurich as Sarastro. Following his Gremin with Götz Friedrich and Gerd Albrecht at the beginning of Drese's era, Matti Salminen regularly returns to Zurich as a guest and has been an ensemble member since 1984-85. Matti Salminen appeared regularly at the Bayreuth Festival from 1976-1988 and at the Savonlinna Festival from 1967-1998. Apart from that, he is a guest at all important opera houses all over the world. In 2000, he sang the title role of Aulis Sallinen's opera Lear in Helsinki and in 2003 sang the title part in Rasputin by Einojuhani Rautavaara. In 2005, Matti Salminen was Gurnemanz in a new Parsifal staging by Harry Kupfer. Further engagements include Parsifal and Tristan in Vienna, Fidelio, Parsifal, Don Carlo and Die Meistersinger at the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Fidelio in Helsinki and Valencia as well as Don Carlo in Zurich and Vienna.
Ulf Söderblom (b. 1930 in Turku) took his degree in conducting at the Vienna Academy of Music under Hans Swarowski. A considerable part of his career was devoted to his work at the Finnish National Opera as its Conductor (1957-1973), Chief Conductor (1973-1993), Director of Planning (1968-1970), Artistic Director (1970-1973) and temporary Chief Director (1996). He was also Artistic Director of the Helsinki Philharmonic (1978-79) and the Lahti Symphony (1984-87) orchestras.
Aulis Sallinen
Tommi Hakala, baritone · Jyrki Korhonen, bass · Riikka Rantanen, mezzo-soprano · Lilli Paasikivi, mezzo-soprano · Mari Palo, soprano · Laura Nykänen, contralto · Jyrki Anttila, tenor · Herman Wallén, baritone · Santeri Kinnunen, spoken role · Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra · Okko Kamu, conductor
Info & buyAulis Sallinen
Jorma Hynninen, topi · Päivi Nisula, riika · Finnish National Opera Chorus · Finnish National Opera Orchestra · Mikko Franck, conductor
Info & buyAulis Sallinen
Jorma Hynninen, baritone · Opera Festival Chorus · Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra · Okko Kamu, conductor
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