Review: Mörköooppera
What a wonderful arrangement! A wonderfully fresh Groke Opera at the Helsinki City Theatre!
Great, brilliant, wonderful.
Yesterday’s premiere of The Groke Opera at the Helsinki City Theatre was one of the most wonderful cultural experiences of my life. There we sat in the auditorium with our family of five and immersed ourselves in the classic songs of my childhood. I got to have a good time and my children were able to expand their understanding of Finnish children’s cultural history.
On stage, the same songs are played that played more than 30 years ago on the LP player of a terraced house apartment in Rauma. That is, the same ones that the little girl with the pigtails sang in the 80s and that will be etched in her memory for decades to come.
But don’t think that the Helsinki City Theatre has been content to be nostalgic and stuck somewhere in the success of decades ago. Absolutely not. Kimmo Virtanen has directed a fresh version of Marjatta Pokela’s iconic Groke Opera just for today’s children. Even though such nostalgics in their forties get to smile in their own memories, HKT’s The Groke Opera offers a wonderful experience especially for those experiencing the 2010s.
Perfect fit
The performance, which premiered yesterday, is an incredibly fresh, beautiful and successful arrangement. It pays great homage to the work created by Marjatta Pokela, but at the same time it is its own, new work.
It’s amazing what kind of stage adaptation Kimmo Virtanen, Jyrki Karttunen and Merja Turunen have created. They have combined Pokela’s classic songs into a wonderful ensemble that flows seamlessly from one scene to the next – and that feels absolutely perfect.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!
The Groke lives in the fairytale land of Mökkyrä, but decides to go and explore the world of humans. He will be able to go to school and the Market Square, the Parliament House and Espa Park. He experiences suspicion and the hustle and bustle of the city – and finally decides to return home to the Tirriäinens.
The performance is full of fine details and inventive elements, fun implementations and amusing stories. Its rhythm works and everything swings. Really great.
The Groke, played by Sanna Majuri, is absolutely brilliant. Great voice and appearance. And everyone else is also brilliant (such as Leena Rapola, Tiina Peltonen and Sofia Hilli). And how nicely the extremely traditional narrator’s voice (Marjut Toivanen) has been included in the story! And of course, the arrangement and stage implementation of Lauri Schrek’s music is also absolutely top! Just super!
And the set and costumes! Thank you Alisha Davidow! They are great! I love that the monster story was not taken to brown gloom, but that fresh joy of color and wonderful amusement were allowed on stage. I love the stylized black and white and inventively simple elements of the sets. And I love all the light and visuals that were seen on stage. Even though it was an 80’s classic, it had been perfectly dressed up in the trendiness of the moment. The eye was allowed to enjoy. Thank you.
The children liked it too!
During the performance, I watched my four-year-old stare at the stage incessantly. He was immersed in the world of fairy tales. He lived along. He enjoyed it. And so did my 5 and 7-year-olds. They were particularly impressed by the scenes that touched them. They liked it. And so did my husband.
Still, the mother of our family was probably the most intoxicated. That is, the girl whose braids had just changed to a bun…
Great recommendation!