Höstsonaten (Autumn Sonata) (2016)
(Opera)

My Opera, Autumn Sonata, was commissioned by the Finnish National Opera and the world premiere took place in Helsinki on the 8th of September 2017 with the Finnish National Opera Orchestra and Chorus conducted by John Storgårds. The direction and set design was made by Stéphane Braunschweig and the premiere cast included Anne Sofie von Otter, Erika Sunnegårdh, Helena Juntunen, Tommi Hakala and Nicholas Söderlund.

The libretto is written by Gunilla Hemming and it is based on the film script by Ingmar Bergman. The two main characters in the opera are Charlotte Andergast – the concert pianist and mother who visits her older daughter Eva after years of absence. Eva lives with her husband Viktor at a vicarage and they also take care of Eva´s younger sister Helena who is gravely ill. The libretto developed into a more illusive form than Bergman’s quite realistic film script. For instance, the film script only alludes to Leonardo, the recently deceased lover of Charlotte. In the opera I wanted Leonardo to have a stronger presence, so the dead man comments on the life of the living from a distance. I also asked the librettist to include a chorus and this ”Greek chorus” became an extension of Charlotte’s ego, the concert audience that accompanies her wherever she goes. This is because Charlotte needs her audience , it means everything to her. It follows in her footsteps, initially just in her imagination. Later on, little by little, it infiltrates the reality of the vicarage and the other characters, who begin to communicate with the choir, too. Such extensions can become absolutely momentous in an opera, in this case creating interesting time layers between the real and the unreal and also showing the egoism of the mother in both tragic and absurd scenes.

When the family members converge under one roof, after years of separation, they begin to delve into the past. Despite their good intentions, old wounds are opened but at the end of the opera we are left in a situation where little seems to have changed. This inevitability haunted me through my entire composition process, becoming as important as the protagonists’ actions. Their objectives are noble, but they are chained by inevitability. In the end, their inability to take the last, crucial step makes change and forgiveness more difficult. I was very interested about the parallels this has in the real world. We all have some need to achieve change in ourselves or people around us. The final step, many times however, is an unsurmountable challenge to us, so everything stays the same.

Opera Autumn Sonata is my most extensive work so far. It combines and develops musical elements from both my previous orchestral - as well as my vocal music. At the same time, the composition of the work did not seem to be an end-point, but rather a new platform that led to new interesting directions and thoughts. I feel that an opera can not be composed before there is a subject and a story that “resonates on the same frequency” as ones own expression and in the early stages of the composition process, it seemed as if the story and its characters were just waiting for me in the shadow of my mind. As the compositional work progressed, the musical tidal flows of the opera pulled me towards big depths and even though the compositional work is finished I still find myself thinking of the characters and their destinies.

Sebastian Fagerlund

SYNOPSIS

Act I 
Overture

Scene 1 
The Vicarage, evening 
Eva and Viktor are discussing the arrival of Eva’s mother Charlotte, a world-renowned pianist. Eva is  struggling with mixed emotions about her visit, the first for 7 years.

Scene 2
Helena’s room
Eva’s younger sister Helena, who is gravely ill and unable to speak, is waiting for Charlotte when Eva, the only person who can understand her, enters the room. Viktor also enters and he and Eva reflect on Charlotte’s career and constant absence. The mood darkens when Viktor asks if they should show Charlotte the grave where their son, Erik, is buried. Eva tells Viktor that Charlotte is alone after the death of her long-time companion and lover, Leonardo, which prompted her to extend the invitation to stay with them. 

Scene 3 
Stage of a Concert Hall
The Audience comes on stage, full of admiration for Charlotte. Charlotte enters and receives their ovations and accolades. The Audience reflects on its almost symbiotic relationship with Charlotte.

Scene 4
Outside the Vicarage
Charlotte arrives full of energy and is met outside by Eva. Her good mood falters however when Eva asks her about the death of Leonardo. Charlotte recalls the moment of his death and Leonardo comments from a distance. The Audience enters and Charlotte’s good mood returns as she discusses her international performances and successes with Eva. Charlotte is shocked to discover that Helena, who she left locked-away in an institution, is living at the Vicarage and being cared for by Eva and Viktor.

Scene 5
Eva leaves and Charlotte is left alone with the Audience. Charlotte turns to them and contemplates the unpleasant situation in which she finds herself.

Scene 6 
Helena’s room 
Eva brings Charlotte to visit Helena. Charlotte is very nervous and doesn’t understand what Helena is trying to say to her. Eva reminds Charlotte about the time the family and Leonardo spent together at their home in Bornholm. At first Charlotte doesn’t recall but slowly her memory returns. Leonardo enters and hints at what actually happened at Bornholm between Helena, Charlotte and himself. 

Scene 7
Leonardo leaves and Charlotte turns to the Audience, complaining of her feelings of guilt and remorse. Supported by the Audience, she decides to shorten her stay at the Vicarage. Charlotte leaves the room and Eva is alone with the Audience, whose presence, until now, she has not been aware of. Suddenly realizing that they are listening to her, Eva becomes furious and challenges them. The Audience becomes agitated, expressing its need to be entertained rather than accused or disappointed, and threatening to stand up and leave.

Scene 8 
Viktor, Eva and Charlotte have finished dinner. The Audience is full of admiration for Charlotte and her long, red dress. Charlotte asks Eva to play the grand piano for her. Charlotte however, quickly loses interest in Eva’s playing, which it seems she neither appreciates nor is impressed by and Eva becomes aware of her mother’s disengagement. Charlotte then plays for everyone. The Audience watches, listens and comments on both performances, firstly with boredom for Eva’s playing and then enthusiasm and passion for Charlotte’s.

Scene 9
Walking in the cemetery, Viktor tells Charlotte about the death of his and Eva’s son Erik at the age of three. Viktor tries to explain his anger and loss of faith but Charlotte remains distant.

Scene 10 
Leonardo appears and comments on the fears and difficulties people experience when encountered with strong and overwhelming emotions. Eva meets Charlotte and Viktor and tries to explain to her mother how Erik still lives within her. Charlotte becomes worried that Eva is unstable and might be at risk of harming herself.

Scene 11
Charlotte’s room 
Charlotte prepares to go to bed.

Scene 12 
The house is dark and silent. Suddenly, Helena screams in her sleep. Eva rushes to Helena’s room to calm her.

Scene 13
Midnight
Eva leaves Helena’s room, meeting Charlotte in the hallway who has also been woken up by the scream. Charlotte confronts Eva about her feelings and emotions. The underlying aggression and hidden strong emotions gradually overwhelm Eva and Charlotte and they start to argue more and more fiercely.

Act II
Scene 14 
Night
Eva tells her mother about how she experienced her childhood and Charlotte’s constant absence. Charlotte remains calm at first but after a while both she and Eva become more and more agitated and, not listening to each other, start to express their own view of events during those years. The anxiety builds until they are interrupted by Helena, who again screams in her sleep. Eva leaves Charlotte to see to Helena.

Scene 15
Night
The Audience enters and Charlotte turns to them. Charlotte is nervous and near breaking point, unprepared as she was for the rage and hatred Eva expressed towards her.

Scene 16
Night
Eva returns to Charlotte even more agitated and angry. The Audience follows the events with great interest and starts to take part in the discussion, as the argument becomes more and more intense and brutal. Viktor interrupts, only to be dragged into the row himself.

Scene 17
Night
Suddenly well again, Helena stands and begins to tell the story of the events that took place when they were all gathered in Bornholm many years ago to everybody around her. It is revealed that Leonardo seduced Helena with the silent approval of Charlotte. Eva, Viktor and Leonardo accuse Charlotte of being manipulative, cruel and selfish, and the cause of Helena’s chronic illness. Charlotte breaks down and begs for forgiveness but is left alone, with only the Audience trying to comfort her.

Scene 18
Helena’s room, morning
Viktor enters and tells Helena that Charlotte has left the Vicarage. Helena gets violently agitated and starts to scream and crawl on the floor towards the door while Viktor tries to hold her down.

Scene 19
The Vicarage, later
Eva, full of remorse, is writing to her mother. Charlotte, in another city, is talking to her agent about her visit to her daughter’s home.