Review: Kerjäläisooppera

NO MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT

Here’s the real Beauty and the Beast phenomenon: Helsinki City Theatre is simultaneously performing a glorious Disney musical and the Beggar’s Opera, which is the exact opposite of it! It’s a brave act, but it’s worth it when both genres are done with skill.


The goals of the beggar’s opera are the exact opposite of those of grand musicals: the audience should not enjoy themselves, but think. Bertolt Brecht’s central goals were alienation: theatre should not try to create an illusion of reality, but the viewer should be made aware of the performance. This was served by Weill’s striking songs, which were not meant to be beautiful, addressing the audience directly, the texts on stage and the asceticism of the stage.


The beggar’s opera is directed by Kari Heiskanen and has been produced strictly and uncompromisingly in the spirit of Brecht’s ideas. This performance is like a lesson in theatre history, as all the means of Brechtian theatre are consistently cultivated from start to finish. An empty stage has been built on the stage, the sets really look like a set, the lights are steep and the people in the spots seem to be under a magnifying glass. The acting is stylized and sometimes even the conductor of the performance intervenes in the events.

Of course, it is not a question of presenting theory, but from these starting points excellent theatre is made with life and colour. However, it is not worth going to see The Beggar’s Opera with musical expectations. It’s not meant to entertain. However, it also does that in its own rough way, and spectacular theatrical effects are also experienced when the sets collapse.

In this genre, the actors’ personal role is, of course, crucial. In the main roles, Oskari Katajisto, Vuokko Hovatta, Riitta Havukainen and Heikki Sankari perform their roles to the fullest and with thought.