Review: Urheiluooppera Paavo Suuri

Soloists of Paavo Nurmi-themed sports opera announced

Paavo Nurmi (1897-1973), one of the great running legends of our century, has been called the first modern athlete, and his achievements are inextricably linked to the history of the international Olympic movement. However, Paavo Nurmi’s personality remained a mystery to most people. Despite the cult of sports stars born in the 1920s, he was also the great loner of our century, the great unknown. This personality has been captured by academician Paavo Haavikko and composer Tuomas Kantelinen, whose Paavo the Great. The Great Run. The Great Dream is part of the programme of the Helsinki Year of Culture. The patron is another great Finnish runner, Lasse Viren.

The performers of the key roles in the Paavo Nurmi-themed opera, which will be seen at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium next August, have now been chosen. The title role is played by the young Swedish baritone Gabriel Suovanen, who has become familiar to Finnish audiences at the latest Mirjam Helin Singing Competitions and the Savonlinna Opera Festival, among others. Soprano Johanna Rusanen will perform as Paavo Nurmi’s wife and tenor Seppo Ruohonen will sing as Urho Kekkonen. In addition, there are several other singing and speaking roles in the work.

The Paavo Nurmi opera is directed by Kalle Holmberg, whose assistant is Vesa-Tapio Valo. The orchestras and choirs involved are the Vantaa Opera and Orchestra, the Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra, the Guards Band and the Finnish Philharmonic Choir; The conductor is Markus Lehtinen. The set design is by Kati Lukka and the costume design by Riitta Riihonen. The lights will be designed by Juha Westman and the sound design will be by Antti Murto. The Paavo Nurmi opera is produced by the Helsinki City Theatre; In addition, e.g. The Stadium Foundation and the Finnish Defence Forces. The group of assistants will be about 1000 people.