Review: Viulunsoittaja katolla

The Eternal Narrative

Burning houses blaze at the edge of the forest. Time to leave. Tevye, a Jewish milk merchant expelled from his home, cries out to his God in the voice of a man uprooted and in the words of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

There is no more time for private humorous prayer moments. The harshness of life has come crashing down on Tevye and his loved ones. Injustice cries out to heaven.

Helsinki City Theatre’s Fiddler on the Roof is an excellent demonstration that Joseph Stein’s good story stands the test of time. The musical opens up in abundance: encountering a familiar and inevitably coming new time, tolerating differences, religion and generational conflicts, a long marriage and young love.

The musical was first performed in Finland at the Helsinki City Theatre in 1966; There were as many as 446 performances.

The fiddler is still fresh. The Ukrainian village of Anatevka in the early 1900s is not far from today. Fleeing persecution and war and shunning strangers have not ended, new values and traditions are also discussed every week in the church media.

The musical, directed by Hans Berdtsson, is a huge masterpiece, with a long list of names of people involved in its production. The result is joyful and moving. It sometimes makes my eyes water. The overwhelming moments are triggered before they become unbearable. Jewish traditional dances and Russian squat jumps are skilfully intertwined in the tunes of Jerry Bock’s original music.

Rarely has such a full-bodied use of the stage been seen. The sky sometimes looks like austere clouds hanging over the houses in the village. Shabbat candles blaze in the dark, and the church looms on the horizon. The set design and costumes were designed by Ralf Forsström .

The role of the milk merchant Tevye is played by Esko Roine . He is a tender-hearted father who is willing to break down traditions that bring security when it comes to the happiness of his daughters. Love wins. His cry of pain at the moment of departure rises from the very core of the human being. Like Tevye, at the turn of the century, people left Russia to escape persecution as far as Poland, Germany, Palestine and America. Villages burned down and ethnic cleansing raged. And even worse was to come.

The songs that have survived about the violinist “Rich Man If I Would Be Happy” and “Rise Day, Fall Day” have labeled the musical as unnecessarily light-hearted. It is about great and eternal stories: agreeing to live and leaving one’s roots, loyalty and love.

There are still many villages in Anatevka, and people of different faiths still shout into the dark: “My God, I call you during the day, but you don’t answer.”