Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th ...

150 Pentti Paavolainen
the city it is important to note that Count Adlerberg, the Governor-General
who had promoted regular seasons by Russian theatre companies in
Helsinki since 1868, had confirmed in the spring of 1875 that a new theatre
and opera house would be built with imperial resources for Russian officers
and merchants. (Byckling 2009). This was the final coup de mort for the two
operas.
In 1878 Nikolai Kiseleff was once again elected to lead the Swedish Theatre
Company. During his last two years as executive director (1878–1880),
he still produced some operas, but he wanted to secure the quality of the
domestic productions by acquiring Bergbom’s two trump cards: the conductor
Bohuslav Hřímalý and the tenor Josef Navrátil, both of whom moved to
the Swedish Theatre for the 1878–1879 season. But Kiseleff and the Swedish
Theatre could go on with opera only one more year – until the spring
of 1880.
Conclusion: Who won? Who lost in the decade of two opera
companies in Helsinki?
Two persons with common interests, Kiseleff and Bergbom, became adversaries
somewhat against their will. First, it was the development of
domestic musical activity which lost an important forum when the operas
collapsed. It was not only the better musical quality of the Finnish <strong>Opera</strong>, it
was also its meaning for the education and development of Finnish musical
life which was essential in its work. A delay of ten years in this development
would be the consequence if domestic opera activity did not have enough
support. This was clearly predicted by Martin Wegelius. (M. Wegelius to C.
G. Estlander, 4 March 1877, SLSA/KK).
The losers were also the many singers who had to decide what to do with
their talents and their stage experience. Some of them went to other Nordic
countries to make a living. Those who remained in Finland could find some
work with the choruses of visiting companies, but they also came up with
initiatives for producing opera again. In the next decade, 1880–1890, the
operas staged in the Alexandre Theatre were Italian works sung by Italian
singers. In the 1890s these were replaced by Russian operas during a time
when there were Russian seasons with Russian operas and Russian singers
in “patriotic style.” (Byckling 2009, pp. 365–494).
Another loser was “modern music”, specifically, Richard Wagner, whose
Tannhäuser would have been the next production in Kaarlo Bergbom’s