Review: Kerjäläisooppera

THE BEGGAR’S OPERA HITS STRAIGHT INTO THE VEIN

Helsinki City Theatre’s Beggar Opera returns to Berliners
to its roots; rough cabaret style, where cutting satire meets rough
humor. The famous Brechtian distancing is also partly derived from cabaret,
where they sometimes explain to the audience what is going on and how to deal with the
should be treated.
The audience of the City Theatre, accustomed to caressing musicals, may be
at first it is difficult to relate to the brutal story directed by Kari Heiskanen ,
but gradually it seems to suck the audience to its side – at least for the most
some of them.

Liisa Ryömä has made a very successful Finnish translation of Bert Brecht’s
lyrics, the lyrics are up to date, the songs still work in Elvi Sinervo’s
Finnish translations. Kurt Weil’s music always captivates. If I am asked
I much prefer to listen to it than Sound of Music.
Knife Mackie is a London gangster with at least that resemblance
that he loves women and is loyal to them,
for many at the same time.

Brilliant singers

Oskari Katajisto is a dangerously elegant Mackie, he charms women so much
than the police. Cooperation with the police is possible with money, you just have to know
the price of each police officer, often it is unexpectedly cheap, especially if the income is
regular, as in the case of the police chief.
I didn’t even know that Katajisto sings so well these days. He’s good
musical actor, especially in cabaret style.

Vuokko Hovatta plays “London’s poorest man”, the boss of beggars
Peachum’s (Heikki Sankari) daughter Polly, who marries Macike
. However, Mackie is already married and there are plenty of mistresses as well.
Hovata sings the Brecht song canonized by Lotte Lenya and Helene Weigel .
Peachhum’s wife is played by Riitta Havukainen, and she is even more twisted than
rolled her husband. A great pair that, with a little tweaking, would fit any
management of an “ever-expanding” global IT company. Their
The horde of street beggars they have organised is also expanding.
And beggars, like computer games, are an illusion. The beggars must
arouses pity, but not with real pain, but with acting, because
Real pain, hunger and despair only confuse the bourgeoisie.

Women have power

All the women in The Beggar’s Opera are more or less whores, but
perky whores, they cheat Mackie for money, even everyone’s dearest
Tavern Jenny (Ursula Salo). Only the Chief of Police’s Daughter Lucy (Laura Pyrrö)
He doesn’t disappoint, but he is a stranger to life.

Leena Rapola, as a brutal “distancing” stage master, does the very
An amazing job. I wonder if the vocal cords can withstand such a thing in the long run?
Men are traitors too, only weaker than women. A meaningful sissy is e.g.
Jyrki Kovaleff Mackie’s confidant. He would even be ready to push
his boss’s death to sleep, if only he dared.

Ursula Salo performs the famous song of Pirate Jenny with skill and heart,
where he commands to cut off the head of every citizen, and when the head falls,
Jenny just screams oops!
Another bravura of every Brecht singer is the Barbara Song, which is sung by
Vuokko Hovatta. That’s where the girl who serves everyone says yes
to a man who is poor, insignificant-looking and doesn’t know how to
treated. But there is moonlight, and so on…

Parody of opera

Weil has composed pure opera music for Lucy, and that’s why Laura Pyrrö,
opera singer, sings her part. But he enjoys opera
parody, as the creators intended.
The music at the Helsinki City Theatre is brilliant these days,
Everyone can sing and act, and in this case, the orchestra is also
excellent, led by Nick Davies.

The set design of the beggar’s opera is caubaret-like, in the first
Moving things around in the show is a bit disturbing, maybe it will make it smoother
over time.

The costumes designed by Maija Pekkanen are absolutely wonderful.

Detached from the GDR Museum

Heiskanen’s Beggar’s Opera does have agitprop, of course, but that has also been done
a little diagonal, it’s far from the 1970’s scattered song, loud and
from a height. The agitation and propaganda of this performance are not superimposed,
It runs through the entire performance.
I don’t really believe that in the GDR, the unchanging
The Beggar Opera in Helsinki would have fit perfectly into the formula of Brecht’s interpretation.
The play’s excellent and definitely worth buying script has
published a 1959 letter to Benno Besson. That’s where the Berliner Ensemble’s
actresses, led by Helene Weigel, inform Besson that this
The Brecht view is “harmful” and that, if Besson does not change his views,
He should resign from the theatre. And he did.
Brecht himself reformed the theatre in the 20s and 30s, but after the war, his
his style was petrified into a museum product in the GDR, and this has partly disturbed Brecht’s
A new coming.
I hope that at least Galileo’s life will be seen again, even if it is a year
In 1987, Ralph Långbacka’s direction was unforgettable, as was Lasse Pöysti
in the title role.