The Swedish theater in Helsinki is currently running Kristina från Duvemåla, a musical that was a smash hit in Sweden in the ’90s, and Elisabet especially was thrilled that we’d have the chance to see it live (she knows all the songs by heart). This was an extra-special outing and I was so glad she’d talked me into it! We loved the show, which was a real tear-jerker of a story with some stellar performers and engaging music.
The handy electronic translator gadgets were relying on a flaky wifi connection, and I have a hard time understanding Finland-Swedish without aid, so I was immune to the tear-jerking for a couple of large swaths there. So I sort of wished I’d read the story first, if only because I seemed to be the only one in the audience who didn’t know that our heroine has to die at the end. (In childbirth, because “having another child will kill her”, which advice she chooses to throw over some years after it is issued because for some reason it dictates that she have no physical contact with her beloved husband.) Though the whole premise makes me want to dive for historical materials: could it possibly be true that a woman emigrating from Sweden to the US in the 1840s, not to mention her entire community, would have no knowledge of the existence of birth control? I might have to read the novels.
Anyway. The theater was gorgeous and the production was polished, and we had a great time. We even had a nice little chat with the conductor after the show, leaning over into the strangely designed orchestra pit.
