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

184 Ulla-Britta Broman-Kananen
wegian) appeared in her favourite role as Rosina (Qvamme 2004, p. 162.)
Benzon-Gyllich apparently became one of the leading forces in the Mattis
and Moe troupe. For example, he sang Count Luna’s role in Il Trovatore. His
career as an opera singer seems to have come to an abrupt end, because the
sources laconically state that Benzon- Gyllich suddenly had to be replaced
right before a performance of La Traviata because he was ordered to leave
town by the police. (Eckhoff Kindem 1941, pp. 59-60.)
<strong>Opera</strong> as politics
Was it a coincidence that these three opera episodes became embedded
in an ongoing and intense nation-building project in each country? If not,
how did the opera companies participate in the construction of the nation?
The questions posed in the introduction to this chapter were especially
concerned with the position of language at all three opera companies, as
well as with the practical consequences of this position in the daily life of
each house. In light of the discussion above, it seems clear that the choice
of language in each opera company was the most noticeable political act of
the three opera histories studied in this chapter. The choice of a particular
language for operatic performance became radical and meaningful when
it differed from the audience’s language and when that language was not
yet widely established in the capitals (as was the case with Helsinki and
Christiania). The language promoted by each national movement was to be
refined and civilised with the help of a modern and truly European art form,
the opera. This was especially in the interest of the Boards of each theatre,
which consequently pushed the nation-building project to the foreground
of all three opera enterprises. This was also the case at the New Theatre
in Helsinki where the language of the performers (with the exception of
Engdahl) was Swedish-Swedish and not Finnish-Swedish. Of course, in this
case there were no problems of understanding the language, but ideologically,
Swedish-Swedish was a reminder of the cultural heritage of the Svecomans
(svekomaner) and of the oppression of the Fennomans.
Despite the similarities among the three episodes, especially with regard
to the prominent role of language in each opera company, there were
also significant differences. A clear line divides the opera companies into
two categories, with the Finnish <strong>Opera</strong> Company and the Christiania Theatre
on the one hand and the New Theatre on the other hand. The feature
shared by the Finnish and Christiania <strong>Opera</strong>s was related to the means with
which a new language was both constructed and “taught” to the audience.