Rockland the Opera, NEW WORLD PREMIERE rebroadcast video webcast July 20th at 1pm EDT and Sun July 24th at 3PM EDT
Rockland the Opera New World Premiere
A REBROADCAST WILL BE AVAILABLE WED JULY 20TH, 2011 at 1PM EDT and Sunday the 24th at 3PM EDT
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Jukka Linkola, Composer
Jussi Tapola, Librettist/Stage Director
Performance dates: July 15 & 17, 2011
Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts
Houghton, Michigan
Commissioned and produced by the Pine Mountain Music Festival
Joshua Major, Artistic Director
Peter Van Pelt, Executive Director
The opera is in two acts with one 20-minute intermission.
Conductor Craig Randal Johnson
Stage Director Jussi Tapola
Set Designer Tom Burch
Costume Designer Suzanne Young
Lighting Designer Helena Kuukka
Chorus Master Ann Campbell
Rehearsal Pianist/Vocal Coach Eric McEnaney
Stage Manager Nancy Uffner
Cast (in order of vocal appearance)
Alfred Laakso Esa Ruuttunen
Puna Pekka Ahopelto Mark Walters
Johanna Ahopelto Barbara Shirvis
Pastor Rantanen Peter Halverson
Sven Polkki Christopher Temporelli
Heikki Järvenpää Brian Shircliffe
Matti Kivi James Plante
Rauha Jennifer Trombley
Otto Benjamin Sieverding
Hilja Heather Youngquist
John Kyle Tomlin
William Jackson William Joyner
Pete Casavino Paul Truckey
Thomas Colton Christopher Temporelli
Raili Ahopelto Maddy Lehman
Tuomas Ahopelto Trevor Puuri
Band, strike breaker Nathan Held
Band, strike breaker Kevin Heras
Band, strike breaker Brandon Pilcher
Band, strike breaker George Thorvald Wagner
Rauha’s children Marya Julio
Chloe Neves
Young Alfred Laakso Ethan Parker
In about 1960, the elderly Alfred Laakso leads a bus tour of tourists to
the town of Rockland, where he lived in 1906. It is almost a ghost town,
but he tells them about when it was a booming place. The action reverts
to 1906.
Scene 1 A Fourth of July party at the temperance hall. Johanna and her
husband, Puna-Pekka (Red Pete) are there. Pastor Rantanen introduces a
union organizer whose speech mixes patriotism with a call for a strike.
Scene 2 Accident in the mine. Otto is killed and Alfred is injured. Otto’s
new widow, Rauha, grieves.
Scene 3 Miner Puna-Pekka agonizes about whether he should have
spoken up about safety lapses. He flirts with getting drunk, but his wife,
Johanna, has hidden the bottles. He resolves to give up drinking.
Scene 4 Otto’s funeral. Pastor Rantanen suggests a ruse whereby the
widow Rauha and her children can stay in their home.
Scene 5 In the tavern, miners talk about the strike. Breaking the
tension, barber Pete Casavino sings “I’m my own barber.”
Scene 6 Johanna visited by William Jackson, underground foreman,
who tells her she deserves better than Puna-Pekka.
Scene 7 In church, as strike date nears.
Scene 8 In mine office the night before the strike. Mine superintendent
Thomas Colton maneuvers William Jackson to name strike leaders.
Scene 9 At home, Puna-Pekka tells Johanna he must participate in the
strike for the sake of the children.
Scene 10 The strike. Miners confront sheriff’s deputies. Chaos, shouting
and gunfire; Puna-Pekka killed on the spot, Kova Kivi dies later.
Scene 11 Crowd of miners in jail. Most are released on bail, but 12 are
charged.
Scene 12 The trial. The elderly Alfred Laakso continues his tale,
describing how two of the miners were tried and acquitted, and the rest
were freed.
Scene 13 William meets Johanna for last time; Johanna returning to
Finland, while William hopes for relationship.
Scene 14 Finale. Back in 1960, and Alfred Laakso concludes the story.
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This is a monumental opera about real people. I saw it Friday on opening night and was just blown away by the quality of the production, the singers, and the music. I would love to get a CD with the music or a DVD of the performance.
Amazing performing!.Thank,s and greetings from “old”World Premiere perfonmances in Nivala,Finland.Barbara Shiris,William Joyner and specialy Mark Walters and Peter Halvorsen are fantastic singers!Thank,s again!
GReat work everyone!! I couldn’t watch it all but what i did see made me want to see the rest!
It was very gratifying to see both first performances of this dual premiere turn out so well, both in Nivala, Finland and in Houghton, Michigan, USA. Having been involved from the beginning, I am very pleased with the result. ROCKLAND tells a gripping, universal story–one that needs to be told as Craig Johnson has said often–and Jukka Linkola’s wonderful music tells it well. Jussi Tapola’s libretto does the story justice. Thanks to all of you who helped to make this happen.
I saw this opera in Nivala in this June and it was very good and interesting performance. It would be nice to have seen it also in Houghton MI. Anyway thanks to people in Michigan, you made it happen!
I thought it was absolutely a wonderful opera. Before the Friday performance I went down into the mine. Then seeing the opera made it so much more real to me even tho’ I am not from the UP. Both performances hosted a full house with a very excited audience. [The opera was the history of their ancestors !]
The music was all so beautiful–the professional opera singers , especially the two lead baritones, and the orchestra were outstanding. Everyone was so excited to be a part of this.
I was at both performances and also watched the rebroadcast both times and passed it on to many friends who saw it and were also impressed.
John Kiltinen rocks!! He is as modest as he is generous! He has been a driving force behind both the performance and commissioning of works by Finnish composers in the U.S (often with a link to the immigrant experience).– a choral work for baritone, chorus, orchestra by Atso Almila, a wonderful double-bass concerto by Jukka Linkola, and, of course, ROCKLAND. We talk about the benefactors of classical music– about angels and princes. Kiltinen is both– along with his wife Pauline. And Conductor Craig Johnson works tirelessly and patiently making things happen and bringing resources together.