Calendar
| Calendar |
2011
2012 January 28, Helsinki |
| Past performances |
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2011 February 11, Turku Syvä ilo
Daddy's Girl
Pietà
Piano Concerto
Anna niskasi niellä kynteni jälki
Three Romances
De virtute in virtutem - Songs of a Pilgrim (wp) Hanna-Leena Haapamäki, soprano, Melis Jaatinen, mezzo-soprano, Tuomas Katajala, tenor, Nicholas Söderlund, bass baritone, baroque ensemble
Syvä ilo
De virtute in virtutem - Songs of a Pilgrim
De virtute in virtutem - Songs of a Pilgrim October 14 until November 10, Helsinki Yhden yön juttu (One Night Stand), Four Songs to Poems by Kirsti Simonsuuri (wp) February 26, Helsinki |
Latest news
| World Premiere in Lapland |
Offertorium, Olli's new solo work for viola da gamba will be premiered
in Hetta, Lapland on April 7, by Varpu Haavisto. The work was
commissioned by the Hetta Music Festival, specializing in church and
chamber music of the Easter period. There will also be a performance
of Olli's Pietà during the week. |
| "An opera for the future" - One Night Stand reviewed by Opera Now |
"Taking such a relevant and insightful libretto about the ills of our time
(which could easily stand on its own as a play) and turning it into a
successful opera was a challenge which Olli Kortekangas met. His music
not only added depth, breadth, and feeling to the opera, but emotional
heft to the characters: you really cared what happened to these kids.
Drawing inspiration from a variety of musical and operatic genres, he
skillfully navigated through a sea of diverse vocal waters, from grand
opera arias and dynamic coloratura, Greek Chorus-like recitative
(speaking snippets of cell phone conversations) to cabaret, Broadway
musicals, tango music, and modern jazz.
This is a 21st century opera that speaks to a 21st century audience in
its language and music. It is fast-paced, almost chaotic in places,
and so relevant for today’s youth that it promises to bring down the
average age of the typical operagoer by 30 years. This is an opera for
the future."
(Karyl Charna Lynn, Opera Now, December 2011) |
| Seven Songs for Planet Earth - U.S. West Coast premiere |
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Olli's symphonic cantata Seven Songs for Planet Earth received its U.S. West Coast premiere in San Francisco on November 19 & 20, performed by Shauna Fallihee, soprano, Nikolas Nackley, baritone, the San Francisco Choral Society, the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir, and the California Chamber Symphony, under the direction of Robert Geary. See review at www.sfcv.org and Olli's interview at www.genevaanderson.wordpress.com. |
| One Night Stand - opera premiere |
Olli's and librettist Michael Baran's new opera One Night Stand (original title: Yhden yön juttu) will receive its premiere on October 15 at the newly-opened Helsinki Music Center. The action in One Night Stand is set in an anonymous seafront city at the present time and five years later. It includes features of a detective story and a love story, logic of dreams, random events and social criticism. The key characters in the opera are Minä (‘Me’), two variations on a person named Axe aka Momo, and the Mad Girl (called Ainut, a Finnish word for ‘the only one’). The story is about the basic issues of being human: identity and how transitory or permanent it is; the conflicting and tangential relationship of hopes, memories and yearning to reality; and of course the possibility, or perhaps impossibility, of love. One Night Stand was commissioned by the Sibelius Academy, and the production was prepared in collaboration with voice students: Olli and Michael conducted a series of workshops where the opera was further processed through improvisation exercises and discussions. A new approach to making an opera is also apparent in other areas of the production. The character of Axe aka Momo is played alternately by a soprano and a tenor, and the costumes and sets make use of recycled materials. |
| Sleepyhead of the Nation |
In July Olli was nominated "Official Sleepyhead of the Nation" by the seaside town of Naantali. This honor is given yearly to a person who has contributed to the success of the town and region. According to the tradition, Olli was thrown into the sea at Naantali harbor in the presence of a large crowd, the President of Finland, Ms. Tarja Halonen and her husband included. "Icing on the cake", commented the newly-dipped Sleepyhead after receiving a kiss on the cheek from Ms. President. The festivities also included a train ride with Moomin characters, the town's most famous inhabitants. |