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- Joel Järventausta
A Human to the best of my Ability (2023)
(Ihminen parhaan kykynsä mukaan)- Edition Wilhelm Hansen Copenhagen (World)
Commissioned by Saaristo Opera
- bar./pf.perc./vl1,vl2,va,vc
- bar.actress
- 1 hr
- Tommi Kinnunen
- Finnish
- 20th November 2025, Almi Hall, Finnish National Opera , Helsinki, Finland
- 21st November 2025, Almi Hall, Finnish National Opera , Helsinki, Finland
Programme Note
Ihminen parhaan kykynsä mukaan - A Human to the best of my ability is the story of a man and a woman, but without the traditional romance. It is a story about the courage it takes to be yourself.
The events take place inside a young soldier's head, trapped in an encirclement. Journeying through difficult memories and uncertain thoughts, he is supported by a woman, who is more than a friend.
Media
Scores
Reviews
In this new chamber opera, Joel Järventausta balances pragmatism and idealism with optimal results. The opera is unlikely to be his last...Composer Joel Järventausta got his career off to a rocketing start before his thirtieth birthday, and with this chamber or near-monologue opera he demonstrates solid craftsmanship.
Before the performance, I admit I was nervous: will a piano, vibraphone and a string quartet be enough to showcase Järventausta’s wonderful orchestration skills, heard for example in his orchestral work Sunfall? Yes, they were. The delicate sonic explorations tickle the ear, particularly in the opera’s quieter passages, when the man played by Torikka contemplates his existence and his possible future…Delving deeper into the emotions, the opera begins to find truly touching qualities.