Review: Moulin Rouge! Musikaali
Moulin Rouge! Musical – sparkling show and harrowing love
The musicals of the Helsinki City Theatre have sparkled and pulsed their way into the hearts of Finns. Moulin Rouge! Before the premiere, a record 80,000 tickets had already been sold for the musical.
Moulin Rouge! The musical draws the viewer into the erotic cabaret atmosphere of late 19th-century Paris with an almost magical intensity that exudes the magic of theatre. A skilful and fast-paced colourful show will make your head spin. The harrowing love story between a courtesan and a young artist begins to live on so authentically that the pain of the lovers seeps all the way to the audience.
The musical is based on a 2001 film. The City Theatre’s performance is a Nordic co-production, which was decided to get the performance rights. The Helsinki premiere on 29 August was the fourth directed by director Anders Albien after Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen. The costume and lighting design, choreography and set design are also the same in the Nordic countries, but all performers and technical designers are local.
The main roles are played by Risto Kaskilahti as a nightclub host, and lovers Jennie Storbacka as courtesan Satine and Martti Manninen as composer Christian.
Manninen’s Christian grows from a timid young man to a passionate, strong-willed and fearless man. Manninen’s charisma overshadows the others, especially in the song numbers towards the end.
No music has been composed for the musical. During the nearly three-hour performance, 70 songs from the last seven decades will be heard. The orchestra is led by conductor Ville Myllykoski, and the chief conductor is Eeva Kontu.
Paavo Leppäkoski’s Finnish translation also plays with a few names of Finnish popular songs. Sadness is wiped from the eyes and semolina porridge and strawberries are promised.
Fifty top professionals will be seen on stage, each of whom is an essential part of the whole. Christian’s artist friends also deserve a special mention; Antti Langin Lautrec and Matti Leino’s Santiago, whose art and life are crystallized in the slogan: truth, beauty, freedom, love.
The musical’s Nordic and Finnish creative team has created a stunningly dazzling ensemble that has been polished into a diamond by dozens of professionals from different fields.
In stories, good always has an evil counterforce. The villain of Moulin Rouge is the Duchess of Montroth, played by Joel Mäkinen , who is used to owning and controlling everything and everyone. He promises courtesan Satine almost a moon from the sky, but the harsh hardships of life have not hardened Satine’s soul; He bends to a lot, but does not submit to the Duke’s property.
In the end, Satine is not set free by love, but by death. Satine, weakened by tuberculosis, dies in the arms of Christian, who has risen from a secret lover to a public lover. Several people in the audience cry out loud when Satine’s body is carried off the stage.
The musical would leave me feeling heavy if the performance ended here. Soon the vocals are louder and stronger, and the legs rise higher and higher in the whirlpool of the can-can. It is up to the viewer to decide whether this indicates that the show must go on, that the “Show must go on” no matter what happens, or that the best way to honor the memory of the dead is to live life to the fullest and enjoy life.
Review in the Cultural Reviews blog.