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

Staging a national language
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The repertoire profiles reveal much about the three operatic episodes,
especially the situation in Helsinki during the 1870s. In Christiania seven
premieres were given in each of two seasons, indicating that Josephson
preferred a certain regularity for his enterprise, as his above-mentioned
speech to the Board shows. At the Finnish and the New Theatres in Helsinki,
eleven premieres were given during the season 1876–1877 (six and
five premieres respectively). Even though the season was prolonged owing
to the exhibition in the summer of 1876, eleven premieres means almost
one a month throughout the year at either theatre. In addition both theatres
gave “old” operas along with or between performances of new ones. This
meant hard work for the singers. Julius Saloman must have begun to fear
for his voice because the next season there is a clause in his contract that he
would not have to sing on consecutive evenings. (STA/SLC.) Both theatres
carried out this number of premieres with a minimum of staff, the Finnish
<strong>Opera</strong> Company relying mostly on female guest singers.
Already the previous season (1875–1876) showed signs of an increase
(five and four premieres respectively), but after the peak in 1876–1877,
there was a clear decline, with a total of only seven premieres. In the spring
of 1879 the Finnish <strong>Opera</strong> Company gave up, but the Swedish company
continued for another season and a half (until the autumn of 1880) with two
premieres (Il Barbiere di Siviglia and La Traviata) and three “old” operas,
Kung Carls jagt (The Hunt of King Charles, Pacius), Le Maçon (Auber) and
Rigoletto (Verdi).
In 1876–1877 the New Theatre’s new opera company staged three
French grand operas, Guglielmo Tell (Rossini), La muette de Portici (Auber)
and Robert le Diable. Die Fledermaus (Strauss) and Rigoletto (Verdi) were also
premiered during the autumn. They were intended to impress the Helsinki
audience, but Die Fledermaus caused an unwanted surprise. This operetta
had its premiere in November of 1876, shortly after the theatre’s success
with Wilhelm Tell. Finnish national-minded students realised that Läderlappen
could be a weak point in the theatre’s repertoire and an opportunity
to make a public statement. Pretending moral indignation, they began to
interrupt and whistle during the performance. It all ended in a fight between
the Finnish- and Swedish-speaking Finns in the snowbanks outside
the theatre. Further performances were cancelled. From the perspective of
the season’s competition, as shown by the premieres at both theatres, the
Fledermaus incident could be interpreted as the young Fennomans’ attempt
to cast the New Theatre’s opera department back to its earlier reputation
as a producer of a “light” repertoire of morally dubious content, while the