Set in the open spaces and potato fields of Ostrobothnia, the opera Pohjalaisia has not been called the Finnish national opera for nothing. Pohjalaisia is a story of perseverance, human rights and freedom. The opera’s music is melodic, emotionally appealing and has a wistful undertone. The work’s hundred-year journey reminds us that stories that touch the soul know no time limits. Paavo Westerberg, known for his theatre and film career, has had his first opera directing performance recorded at the Finnish National Opera on 12 December 2024.

The Ostrobothnians (in Finnish: Pohjalaisia; occasionally translated to English as The Bothnians), Op. 45, is a verismo opera in three acts written from 1917 to 1924 by the Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja. The story, variously comedic and tragic, takes place around 1850 in the historical Finnish province of Ostrobothnia and features as its central conflict the deteriorating relationship between the farm community and its oppressive sheriff.

On 25 October 1924, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra premiered the opera at the Finnish National Opera under the baton of Tauno Hannikainen. The enthusiasm of critics and the public quickly elevated the work to the status of the country’s “national opera”. Working in its favor was Madetoja’s use of well-known folk melodies and the libretto’s focus on freedom from oppression and self-determination, the allegorical qualities of which were particularly salient to a country that had won recently its independence from Russia. This inaugural production ran until November 1940, for a total of 90 performances, making it the greatest success of Madetoja’s career. Today, the opera is recognized as Finland’s first significant contribution to the operatic repertoire and has been revived numerous times.

The work is also well known in its abridged form, a five-movement suite for orchestra that Madetoja excerpted from Acts 1 and 2 of the (then-unfinished) stage production’s score and which Robert Kajanus premiered to acclaim in Bergen, Norway on 8 March 1923. The most famous number is Song of the Prisoner (Vangin laulu), for which Madetoja set the popular Ostrobothnian folk song The Wind Bent the Birch (Tuuli se taivutti koivun larvan); in addition to being the prelude to Act 1 of the opera, the melody also serves as its key leitmotif.

Synopsis:

Act 1
The main cabin on the Harri farm

Antti Hanka, a young freehold farmer, awaits trial for having stabbed a cobbler who insulted his fiancée, Maija Harri. Returning from the remand prison in Vaasa and transported to the Harri farm by Maija’s father, Antti—shackled and dressed in prisoner’s garb—sings the folk song Tuuli se taivutti koivun larvan (The Wind Bent the Birch). Maija, who is nervous to meet Antti and has gone into the woods, overhears her beloved’s sorrowful song. Her brother Jussi, the young master of the Harri farm, retrieves her and arranges for the two lovers to meet alone. Maija struggles with her emotions: having recently converted to Pietism, she has renounced everything material but nonetheless still feels love for Antti and concern for his well-being. She begs him to repent his sins; he refuses, saying that it was incumbent upon him to defend her honor.

As an interlude, the focus shifts to two farmhands, Kaappo and Salttu, who have been drinking on the job and, thoroughly inebriated, are wallowing in self-pity. The arrival of the Sheriff interrupts the revelry. Although the Ostrobothnian farmers despise him for his brutal and oppressive tactics, they all nonetheless remove their hats out of deference to the law. The Sheriff demands to see Antti’s travel paperwork, which Jussi comes forward to provide, but without removing his hat. Offended, the Sheriff strikes his whip, knocking Jussi’s hat to the ground. Jussi, however, manages to grab the whip and defiantly breaks it in half. The sheriff departs, threatening reprisals for any future insolence.

Act 2
The yard of the Harri farm

Liisa, a young servant girl at the Harri farm, pines for the brave Jussi; gradually she makes her feelings known to him. Jussi, with growing awareness of Liisa’s beauty and innocence, begins to spend more time with her and soon their relationship deepens into love. Antti, who has been at court for sentencing, returns to the farm and announces that he has been convicted and ordered to prison. Maija, devastated, decides God’s will cannot be for Antti to spend his life behind bars, and she persuades him to go on the lam. The village people have assembled on the Harri farm for dancing, but the arrival of a gang of ruffians interrupts the merrymaking. The men seek to plunder the farm, but withdraw when their leader, Köysti, loses in a wrestling match with Jussi. The victory is short-lived, when Jussi and the others discover that, during the fighting, Antti has disappeared. The act ends with the villagers searching for the escaped convict.

Act 3
The main cabin on the Harri farm

Jussi and Liisa’s love continues to blossom, and they begin to plan their wedding. Word of Antti’s escape has reached the Sheriff, who returns to the Harri farm to interrogate the Ostrobothnians and sniff out the fugitive’s confederates; accompanying the Sheriff is the Scribe, Lay Judge, and Bailiff. Kaappo is the first to be brought before the Sheriff; intimidated and confused, the farmhand provides false testimony that he last saw Antti drinking with Jussi. Kaisa, a motherly tenant of the Harri farm, provides far more resistance when she is questioned; her strategy of circumlocution enrages the Sheriff and he orders her out. After Kaisa departs, the Sheriff orders the Scribe to retrieve Jussi; he draws his whip from the side of his boot, itching for a fight.

The accused is brought before the Sheriff and after a brief sham trial, Jussi is handcuffed—his protestations of innocence notwithstanding—and taken into a backroom. The Lay Judge warns the Sheriff not to abuse his power and flout the law, but the Sheriff pushes past him and enters the room. Inside the Sheriff whips Jussi, seeking a confession. Their confrontation eventually spills into the main hall, where Jussi laments that he has been “beaten like a dog, like an old horse”. He warns the Sheriff to stay away from him, but when he nonetheless advances, Jussi breaks his shackles and brandishes his knife. The Sheriff draws his revolver and fires two shots at Jussi, who nevertheless manages to stab the Sheriff to death. Although mortally wounded, Jussi’s death is not immediate. Erkki, Maija (who confesses to being Antti’s actual abettor), and Liisa each take a turn lamenting Jussi’s fate. He drops to his knees and describes his vision: the oppressors are vanquished and the Ostrobothnians are slaves no longer. He asks Liisa to close his eyes, and her grief-stricken face is the last he ever sees.

Quoted from Wikipedia

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FULL Pohjalaisia or Ostrobothnians (Leevi Madetoja) Helsinki 2024 Jukka Rasilainen, Ville Rusanen, Maria Turunen, Johanna Nylund

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