The former, with a libretto by the famous Finnish soprano, Aino Ackté (adapted from the 1911 novel by writer Juhani Aho), had fallen to Madetoja after a series of events: first, Sibelius-ever the believer in "absolute music"-had refused the project in 1914 and, second, in 1922, the Finnish National Opera had rejected a first attempt by Aarre Merikanto as "too Modernist" and "too demanding on the orchestra", leading the composer to withdraw the score. During this time, he was at work on two new major projects: a second opera, Juha, and a fourth symphony, each to be his final labor in their respective genres. Today, the opera is rarely performed and has been supplanted in the operatic repertoire by Aarre Merikanto's modernist 1922 version (first performed in 1963), which is based upon the same libretto.Īn advertisement promoting the 17 February 1935 premiere of Madetoja's Juha Armas Järnefelt conducted the premiere.įor Madetoja, the 1930s brought hardship and disappointment. Despite two mini-revivals in Madetoja's lifetime, he considered it the greatest disappointment of his career. Although a success at its premiere, Juha failed to match the popularity of Madetoja's first opera, The Ostrobothnians enthusiasm quickly faded and the inaugural production fizzled in February 1938, for a total of just 13 performances. On 17 February 1935, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra premiered the work at the Finnish National Opera under the baton of Armas Järnefelt. Disillusioned with rural life and seduced by promises of material comfort and romance, Marja runs away with Shemeikka Juha, who maintains his wife has been abducted, eventually discovers her betrayal and commits suicide by jumping into the rapids. The story takes place on the border between West Karelia (Finno-Swedish territory) and East Karelia (Russian territory), and features as its central conflict a love triangle between the farmer Juha, his young wife Marja, and a Karelian merchant, Shemeikka. The libretto, a collaboration between Madetoja and the Finnish soprano Aino Ackté, is based on Juhani Aho's novel by the same name. Juha, Op. 74, is a verismo opera in three acts-comprising six tableaux-written from 1931 to 1934 by the Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja.
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