Review: Mörköooppera

The exhilarating stars of the Groke Opera: Sanna Majuri and co.

I would not have guessed how sweetly Marjatta Pokela’s (1925-2002) Groke Opera, which saw the light of day in 1980, would be updated at the Helsinki City Theatre. The performance on the small stage is recommended for children over the age of four, but it was also enjoyed by ten-year-old Lilian and ten-year-old grandmother, me, who back in the day could no longer listen to the rattles that had turned into earworms.

Pokela’s music has been arranged for the performance by Lauri Schreck, and what a musical firework he has created from the familiar songs! The Groke, who travels from Oulu to Helsinki, to the world of people from the fairytale land of Mökkyrä, rocks and raps in such a way that the audience was fully captivated at the premiere. The arrangements of familiar songs and compositions are influenced by mechanical pop music.

Sanna Majuri shows her full range as an actress and singer and is a real rock star in a few scenes. No wonder the four-year-old boy sitting behind me said: “Mommy, my heart is pounding terribly!

The City Theatre’s dance group now also dazzles as singers, and the skill of singing is needed in the Groke Opera, which has been sung through. The whole group is obviously moved on stage by the great joy of doing, and it carries all the way to the auditorium.

The fairytale-like story does not get stuck for a moment, and thanks are due to the director of the performance, Kimmo Virtanen, choreographer Jyrki Karttunen, and Alisha Davidow, who designed the set and costumes.