Classic Italian opera comes to Savonia
Savonlinna’s 2009 festival season began with Puccini’s Madame Butterfly.
The romantic medieval castle in Savonlinna has hosted unforgettable opera premieres since 1987. The guest for the Opera Festival season 2009 is the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, one of Italy’s leading opera houses.
The Italians bring three magnificent productions to Savonia. Pietro Mascagni’s 1890 one-act Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) is a tale of love betrayed, jealousy and revenge. Ruggero Leoncavallo’s 1892 work Pagliacci (Clowns) plays on the classic theme of a love triangle. The third opera, Vincenzo Bellini’s three-act I Puritani (The Puritans), premiered in 1835, will now be performed in Finland for the first time. It contains two simultaneous plots where the power of politics and love play important roles among the characters.
Susan Fourtané – Helsinki Times
Timo Seppäläinen – Image
Savonlinna Opera festival
Until 1 August
Karim Azriouli, Internet marketing consultant
Karim Azriouli
I recently interviewed Karim Azriouli, a Finn who immigrated to Canada, where he already feels at home although he says missing summer nights in Finland, spending time in the summer cottage and of course sauna.
British & Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce in Finland: Helsinki and Montreal are quite different cities, starting from size for example, with all what that implies. What makes Montreal a good place to live?
Karim Azriouli: Diversity, lots of immigrants, different cultures and different nationalities sharing one city, that’s one thing I like most from Montreal.
BCCCF: You moved to Canada only knowing your girlfriend, without a job waiting for you. You moved to build up your career by yourself. How is it to be a foreigner starting from scratch in Canada?
KA: Bureaucracy is easier in Canada than in Finland. Finding a job is not easy without speaking French apart from English, of course it depends on the job too. I believe in being proactive. In most, if not all cases we are more used to move to other countries when we have a job in a company or a business opportunity already set but if we don’t have that, the initial step is far too big for most to take. Most immigrants here didn’t come with a business opportunity to begin with. They open their own business after and continue from there on. That makes a huge difference. Diversity, as I mentioned before, makes it more appealing for me personally as I come from a multicultural background myself. Besides being a citizen, how does nationality shape and define itself nowadays? Many people have more than one nationality or share a completely different culture and customs than which their nationality would initially suggest. Montreal is more diverse than most cities in Canada with an emerging number of immigrants. In this regard Montreal is naturally much more advanced than Helsinki for example, although in Finland we are seeing more people awaking the growing number of nationalities and cultures present.
BCCCF: What were you doing in Finland before moving to Montreal?
KA: I was working in the field of web analytics and Internet marketing – providing customers with analyzed marketing results. It was an Internet Marketing Consulting company. I was responsible for the sales and marketing of the company. We became quickly the fastest growing IT-company (Deloitte, Rising Star category) in Finland. It was my first job with a decent amount of responsibility, managing a sales unit consisting of 12 people. There were no restrictions, no limitations in how much I could influence and practice my experience as long as I could meet and exceed the expectations. It was a great experience. I wanted to continue and take the investment abroad but the company was not willing. The main reason was not being able to take the risk.
BCCCF: How do you see the opportunity of Finnish companies investing abroad and foreign capital coming to Finland? Let’s say, Canada and Finland working in cooperation?
KA: I see great potential in Finnish expertise. Finland has a high standard of know-how, even more so if you compare it on a global scale. Small companies usually stay small mainly because of their reluctance to grow into the international market, or rather, their reluctance to meet the challenges and demands when exploiting their investment to the fullest. Too often companies prefer to stay in their comfort zone. The Finnish way of doing business is repeatedly restricted by this mentality, often missing the opportunity or underestimating the potential of their investment. Because of this, when outside the boarders, the most commonly accepted answer and way of growing is by using solely local expertise instead of their own. This, on the other hand, makes Finland a great opportunity for foreign investors and partners. Ultimately, I see more opportunity of foreign capital coming to Finland than Finnish companies investing abroad. I am certain that the know-how and potential of the Finnish companies is competitive enough within the global market. Yet, I feel Finnish entrepreneurs should recognize even more the potential they have in their hands and be more aware and proactive in seeking opportunities. “We don’t want to grow too fast, we want to grow slow.” is a phrase used too often and inappropriate in the context whether international or local business in general.
BCCCF: Do you think Finnish companies are ready and willing to have a representation in Canada?
KA: Perhaps not acknowledged enough, there still is a huge demand for foreign expertise when it comes to taking Finnish companies abroad. There lies the mutual interest. I can’t see any reason why Canada would differ in this respect. Nokia is an often used example of a successful venture, a small company from a small country growing into a giant player and a global icon. Nokia is just one example and shouldn’t be left as the only one. Even if not the same kind of giant, there are constant opportunities for many other “Nokias” as long as we are able to grasp them.
Karim Azriouli can be contacted at karimazriouli@hotmail.com
Interview by Susan Fourtané for the British & Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce in Finland -
susan.fourtane@bcccf.fi
www.bcccf.fi
The interview was published first on July 14th, 2009 as part of the British & Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce in Finland’s Newsletter: http://www.bcccf.fi/newsletter/karim_azriouli.html
Dancing in the moonlight
Kenneth Kvanström's Destruction Song
The rich selection of Finnish contemporary dance will shine on the big stage by male choreographers Tommi Kitti and Jyrki Katttunen with their internationally praised group pieces Riff and Situation Room. Artist professor Kenneth Kvarnström is making his coming back as a choreographer with the premiere of his Destruction Song, exploring the relationship between the individual and society.
The female choreographers’ works will show an interesting and personal view of women’s role in today’s society through Liisa Pentti’s Mabel or the Queen of Bones, Johanna Tuukkanen’s Huippusuoritus – Outstanding Performance, and the premiere of A Friend of the Pianist by the multi-talented choreographer Elina Pirinen.
This summer’s programme presents an interesting opportunity to observe and reflect on the impact of gender on the choice of topic and realisation.
Internationally recognized as a high-standard dance festival, Full Moon Dance is a must-go experience to everybody who is connected with the dance field or simply enjoys the sublime magic of dance and body language.
Further info & programme:
www.fullmoondance.fi
Susan Fourtané – Helsinki Times
Image: Urban Jören
Art gems at EMMA’s summer exhibition
Jyrki Parantainen's 2001 work, The Mystery of Satisfaction no 7.
Emma’s own collection primarily comprises Finnish modern, post-war and contemporary art as well as a few international works, mainly by Nordic artists. The exhibition also features a history section, chronicling the collection’s development since the museum was founded.
The earliest work on view in the exhibition is Anna Sahlstein’s Mottagningstiden på sjukhuset ( ) from 1893. At the other end of the scale, Probe is a work created just this year by Mark Francis.
Ten sculptures from the Raimo Utriainen Collection on deposit with EMMA are on display. The sculptures, constructed from straight metal slats, are abstract works is created by combining straight and curved, transparent and solid surfaces.
The Osmo Valtonen Collection was donated to EMMA in 2008.Valtonen was a draughtsman and pioneer of kinetic light art. The exhibition features one sand-plotter and digger construction which ingenious structures create fascinating and constantly changing forms. Ten works from the collection of Kyösti Kakkonen, who owns one of Finland’s most important collections of glass and ceramics, represent the latest in international and Finnish contemporary art.
A Look at EMMA’s collections
until 6 September
EMMA-Espoo Museum
of Modern Art
Ahertajantie 5,
Tapiola, Espoo
Opens:
Tue-Sun 11:00-18:00
Admission: €10/€8
SUSAN FOURTANÉ – HT
Emma
A world of words in Töölö
Ian Bourgeot offers a warm cup of green tree and a wide selection of books in Arkadia International Bookstore.
WRITING developed between the 7th and the 4th millennium BC as the result of the desire of humans to create lasting records of the spoken word. Since then, ancient forms of books made of stone to wood, clay and wax tablets to papyrus and parchment began the book culture. It was not until the 15th century with the development of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg and his major work, the Gutenberg Bible, that the Age of the printed book started. In 1475,The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, was the first book printed in the English language.
Arkadia’s bookshelves hold a comprehensive collection of books in English and other languages. Although most of the books are from the 20th century, the titles on the catalogue also include books dated from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Weekly free cultural evenings make of Arkadia a different and special bookshop. The events may include scholarly and book presentations, poetry and literature, plays, political debates or concerts enjoying a cup of green tea and a relaxed feeling.
The intellect and culture highly present in Helsinki, can certainly find in Arkadia the perfect place to reinforce the importance of the written word in our society. Technology and the Internet have brought to our lives e-books and audio-books which can be easily stored in our virtual library and yet, the feeling of holding a book while resting in our comfortable chair is a heart warming experience.
Arkadia Oy
International Bookshop
Pohjoinen Herperiankatu 9, Helsinki
Mon-Fri 12-20, Sat 10-18
Events : www.arkadiabookshop.fi/blog
SUSAN FOURTANÉ
HELSINKI TIMES
Trust
What makes you decide to trust or not to trust someone to do a job?
It takes the same amount of energy to make the decision, the difference will be in the result of your decision making.
When you trust someone to do a certain job, you might base your decision on the knowledge you have of the person. Do you really know him?
When you trust someone you might take into account his CV. Does it really tell everything about that person?
Personal history and experience have a great influence on the individual’s development, therefore, it influences his job. Do you know his personal history?
Trusting that someone can do a good job triggers the individual’s motivation and self-esteem. Believing that he can perform accordingly to the needs of the company, believing he can deliver a good product or service allows him to work efficiently and happy.
A happy employee always delivers good results. 
Love is . . .
Love is blindness, mixed media by Hanna Korhonen.
The human heart is said to be the warm home of our feelings, emotions and love. A broken heart is pictured when feelings of pain result from love loss. But what is love? Do we become enamoured with the emotion, with the possibility of being loved and being with someone, rather than with the particular person involved?
Through a personal transition from anger to distance, Korhonen sought answers to these questions. The exhibition is illustrated by a series of mixed media photographs and writings. Handwritten poems, letters, and part of the artist’s personal diary are displayed on a light table and on the floor around it, inviting viewers to interact with them.
Korhonen’s objective is to provoke thoughts involving the personal experience of the viewer in relation to the social and biological pressure taught by society.
“The cultural idea of what love is, shows an urge to find content, sharing and the bases of a family. The way I look at love is very similar, but for me the relief is that we don’t have to find it at a certain age or even in the same sex,” she says.
Until 7 June at
00130 gallery
Korkeavuorenkatu 27,
Helsinki
Tue-Sun 12:00 to 17:00
www.00130gallery.net
Susan Fourtané – HT
English language theatre in June
Anna Maria Rawlings as Flora and Jack Leo as Edward in A Slight Ache.
Harold pinter was one of the most influential British playwrights of modern times. At the time of his death in 2008, he had achieved fame also as a screenwriter, actor, director, poet, author and political activist. He was the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature.
Involving strong conflicts among ambivalent characters, Pinter’s dramas are stylistically marked by theatrical pauses and silences, comedic timing, irony and menace. The ambiguity in his themes raises complex issues of individual identity oppressed by social forces, language and the vicissitudes of memory.
Why did you choose these Pinter’s plays?
Joan Nordlund: We chose Moonlight because it is one of Pinter’s later plays, because of the excellent dialogue and because of the mixture of emotions that it arouses. We also thought it would go well with A Slight Ache.
Bruce Marsland: A Slight Ache is an early work by Pinter and, as such, it is interesting to view it in relation to how we know Pinter’s work developed later, as in plays like Moonlight. The double-bill provides a rare opportunity to compare Pinter’s early and late work, and see how his approach to topics and theatricality may or may not have changed over the years.
How would you define the plays?
JN: Moonlight is a play about death and life and the space between, about relationships and families, memories and fantasies.
BM: A Slight Ache is largely about identity. It’s about how we define ourselves and what we use to define our view of others. It’s about an exploration of self through the exploration of the other – and it recognises all the potential trauma that lies on that path.
What can the audience expect from the performances?
JN: I think they will find the play moving, absurd and funny at times, disturbing and puzzling. Above all, I hope that they will be entertained.
BM: As often with The Finn-Brit Players, this is an opportunity to see English-language theatre performed with the original text. Pinter is not about comfort but I hope we can provide committed and challenging performances, and even topics to debate in the pub afterwards.
What are your directors’ statements?
JN: Directing Pinter is a joy and a challenge. Most of his plays, in my opinion, are best performed in small theatre spaces, in which the dividing line between the audience and the action is not necessarily clear cut.
BM: For me, theatre is about direct emotional and intellectual contact between the performers and the audience. Theatre should stir new ideas and challenge established concepts. I hope we can achieve that, at least in part, with this double-bill.
Q-Teatteri’s Puoli-Q stage
Tunturikatu 16, Helsinki
Showtimes
5 to 13 June at 19:00
Tickets €10 for both plays
Booking: www.finnbritplayers.com/tickets_pinter
www.finnbritplayers.com
Susan Fourtané – HT
Fabien Rapin -Image
Why boys don’t play with dolls?
From the series Playing Belfast by Harri Pälviranta
Kiasma’s exhibition (Un)naturally explores and illustrates the diversity of gender.
Since an early age, boys and girls learn to have gender roles. Games and toys are differentiated in the scene on the playground; girls playing with girls while boys are romping with boys.
In the adult world, suddenly rules change when preferring the same gender partner to share life is considered unnatural, therefore discriminated by society. Despite the fact that in some job markets the gender differences may appear as natural on a basis of evolution or genes, the curators agree that something is still wrong if genders are continuously juxtaposed even in the third millennium.
When is it natural to prefer the same gender and when is it not? Who sets the rules? What determines the scent of a man? Thoughts on these questions, on what is natural and what is unnatural come to the viewer through the works of nine artists including ink on paper, watercolor, pencil on paper, chromogenic colour print, digital colour print, silisec mounting and oil on canvas.
An interesting series of drawings (ink on paper) entitled Fall of Man, includes male personalities in history telling stories of men defending gay rights, men stubbed to death for being gay, or showing the countries where homosexuality is a reason for death penalty.
(Un)naturally
on display
until 30 August.
www.kiasma.fi
Susan Fourtané – HT
Harri Pälviranta – Image
Film festival in Sodankylä
Sodankylä Film Festival from 10-14 June
The 24th Midnight Sun Film Festival is the perfect excuse to visit the Finnish Lapland for 24 hours of non-stop masterpiece screenings and meeting top international filmmakers in the light of the midnight sun.
Aki Kaurismäki, Mika Kaurismäki and Timo Malmi form the programming committee who, together with artistic director Peter von Bagh, select the films; assuring quality to the film fest party.
Gems of contemporary international cinema and classic silent films share screening space in the non-competitive festival. International directors invited this year are John Boorman from the UK, Arturo Ripstein from Mexico, Robert Guédiguian from France and Samira Makhmalbaf from Iran. Special screenings include Rauni Mollberg’s classic adaptation of Timo K Mukka’s Earth is Our Sinful Song, which is not very often seen on the big screen.
The Finnish documentary film Maan muisti, will premiere at the festival. Finnish filmmakers attending the fest include Heikki Kujanpää, the director of Falling Angels, and Timo Torikka, from Mika Kaurismäki’s Three Wise Men’s trio.
Swiss film critic Hervé Dumont, known as an expect of Frank Borzage’s films, and Paolo Mereghetti, author of Il Mereghettii Dizionarion dei Film – a masterpiece of film encyclopaedias will share their knowledge in fantastic Master Class lectures.
www.msfilmfestival.fi
Susan Fourtané – HT
Santeri Happonen – Image
