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

Staging a national language
<strong>Opera</strong> in Christiania and Helsinki in the 1870s
Ulla-Britta Broman-Kananen
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In this chapter I will compare opera in the 1870s at three theatres in two
Nordic capitals; the Christiania Theatre in Christiania (today Oslo) and
the Finnish Theatre and the New Theatre in Helsinki. 1 I shall especially
concentrate on how the language of the operas in each theatre dominated
and defined the three houses, although in different ways. Language was
an obvious and strong identity marker for national movements as well as
for ethnicity, and it was the main issue over which political parties in both
countries were struggling in those days. However, this struggle was also
very much about claiming a cultural space for the growing bourgeoisie and
middle class, as well as establishing a new national language in each capital.
Language was at the forefront of operatic works, especially in opera companies,
but the issue of language also appeared in the performance language
chosen at each opera company as well as in their choice of the repertoire.
1 In 1887 the New Theatre was renamed the Swedish Theatre. Pentti Paavolainen’s
chapter in this book would be useful to read before this chapter, because Paavolainen
explores the earlier history of the Finnish and the New Theatres in Helsinki, as well as
the relationship between their directors, Kaarlo Bergbom and Nikolai Kiseleff.