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CD canto:). Hortus Musicus

DVD In the Mystical Land of Kaydara. Peeter Vähi

DVD Coppélia. A ballet by Léo Delibes

CD-series Great Maestros. Beethoven, Brahms. Kalle Randalu, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi

CD Quarter of a Century with Friends. Arsis, Rémi Boucher, Oliver Kuusik, Rauno Elp

Super Audio CD Maria Magdalena. Sevara Nazarkhan, Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir, State Choir Latvija, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra

CD Jerusalem. Hortus Musicus

LP Contra aut pro? Toomas Velmet, Neeme Järvi, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Arvo Pärt

CD The Soul of Fire. Age Juurikas

Vinyl CONTRA AUT PRO? Toomas Velmet (cello), Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Neeme Järvi... World premiere recording of Arvo Pärt’s Cello Concerto Pro et contra. Brand new!

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DVD: KRATT / THE GOBLIN, a ballet by Eduard Tubin. Estonian National Ballet. New!

Read more: Kratt

 

GeorgUdukubaraaariaGEORG UDUKÜBARA AARIA

Georg Udukübar on energiline noormees, kellel on aaria ja kes tahab seda – maksku mis maksab – ooperiteatri laval ette kanda. Kuidas aga pääseb Georg unistatud lavale, kui keegi pole Udukübara-nimelisest lauljast varem kuulnud ning kui tal endal on vaid udune arusaam sellest, kus lava asub? Georg jõuab teatrimajja, kust algab tema teekond lava suunas. Sellel keerulisel, ent lustlikul teekonnal on Georgile toeks preili Tahtejõud, kes aitab noormehel tema suurt soovi täide viia. Georg seikleb läbi tohutu suure maja, sattudes igasugustesse ruumidesse ning puutudes kokku kõikvõimalike ooperi- ja balletiteatri töötajatega. Mis leiab aset teatrimaja sisemuses? Kes tegutsevad seal, kuhu külastaja pilk kunagi ei satu? “Georg Udukübara aaria” on lõbus ja vallatu lastelavastus, kus peaosi mängivad Anatoli Tafitšuk ja Jana Liisa Johannson, samuti astub sarjas iseendana üles suur hulk Rahvusooper Estonia artiste ja töötajaid.

 

Näe und, ilmsi võimatut und
Löö väed, puruks võitmatud väed
Su trots võitku hirmu ja valu
Kui ees surmaõudusi näed

Su arm olgu kirgas kui jää
Loo kord keset valede kaost
Kui käed enam mõõka ei hoia
Siis täht haara tähisöö paost

Nii käsib au, käes mõõk, püstipäi
Täht tähiseks kauge, teed okkalist käi
Mis iganes teed, olgu õigluse heaks
Ja ka siis, kui ta nimel sa põrgusse minema peaks


Meeles pea, kui sa lõpuni vaid oled vandele truu
Siis su hing leiab rahu, kui liiv täidab silmad ja suu

Sellest maailm ehk paremaks saab
Kui üks mees, pekstud pilgatud mees
Pilgus surm, püüdis haarata tähte
Mis sääl kõrgel säras ta ees

Don Quijote tõotuslaul muusikalist “Mees La Manchast” (Mitch Leigh, Joe Darion, tõlge Iko Maran)


Georg Udukübar: Anatoli Tafitšuk
Tahtejõud: Jana Liisa Johannson

Helgi Sallo, Voldemar Kuslap, Priit Aimla, Kaspar Mänd, Eda Peäske, Anto Õnnis, Jassi Zahharov, Oliver Kuusik, Helen Lokuta, Aivar Mäe, Arne Mikk, Riina Airenne, René Soom, Kristel Pärtna, Ain Anger, Juuli Lill, Marko Matvere, Rahvusooper Estonia orkester ja koor, Eesti Rahvusballett ja teised estoonlased, Tallinna Reaalkooli õpilased

Käesoleval DVD’l on kasutatud fragmente järgmistest teostest: Purcell “Kuningas Arthur”, WagnerLendav hollandlane”, “Valküür”, Verdi “Saatuse jõud”, “Rigoletto”, “Aida”, “Traviata”, “Sitsiilia verepulm”, “Trubaduur”, “Nabucco”, Rossini “Sevilla habemeajaja”, “Varastaja harakas”, Bizet “Carmen”, Donizetti “Armujook”, Mozart “Figaro pulm”, “Don Giovanni”, “Võluflööt”, Gounod “Romeo ja Julia”, Leoncavallo “Pajatsid”, Kapp “Tasuleegid”, Massenet “Thais”, “Le Cid”, Tšaikovski “Luikede järv”, “Pähklipureja”, Delibes “Coppélia”, Beethoven “Prometheus”, Bock “Viiuldaja katusel”, Vinter / Raudmäe “Pipi Pikksukk”, Leigh “Mees La Manchast”, Kálmán “Tsirkusprintsess”, Romberg “Kõrbelaul”, Jones “Geiša”, Strauss jun “Nahkhiir”, “Šampanja polka”, Ravel “Boléro”, Orff “Carmina Burana”, Pärt “Pro et contra”, Rästa “Goodbye to Yesterday”, Chaplin “Naeratus”

GeorgUdukubaraAaria

Stsenarist: Wimberg
Lavastaja-režissöör: Elo Selirand
Kunstnik: Kristel Linnutaja
Grimeerija: Taimi Lume
Korraldus: Aivar Mäe
Idee ja korraldus: Ülla Veerg, Anu Põrk
Kostüümid, rekvisiidid: Ülle Kogerman, Anni Sildvee, Kerli Kann, Riina Saaliste, Merli Maidla, Kristi Reidla, Evelin Temmin, Siiri Luhaäär, Marja-Liisa Pihlak, Lee Sakk, Klarika Verlin, Aivar Kärner, Evelin Adamberg, Maili Kutti, Malle Kaalep
Lavameeskond: Mario Madiste, Reijo Timuska, Kalle Timuska, Tiit Urvik
Heli: Kalev Timuska

Salvestuse produtsent: Liisa Piisel
Operaatorid: Raul Priks, Toorion Ojaperv, Ergo Treier, Esper Kaar, Reijo Taagepera
Helirežissöör: Taisto Uuslail
Helikujundaja: Mihkel Robam
Valgustajad: German Golub, Martin Palm, Martin Paju
Graafik: Toorion Ojaperv
Monteerijad: Vladlen Pobjaržin, Kalle Käärik, Andres Lepasar, Elo Selirand
Produtsent-toimetaja: Margus Saar

DVD mastering: Jüri Tallinn
Trükiste toimetaja: Signe Toomla
Produtsent: Peeter Vähi

Stereo, PAL, formaat 16:9, kõik regioonid
℗ 2016 Rahvusooper Estonia, Eesti Rahvusringhääling
© 2017 Rahvusooper Estonia, ERP
ERP 9817
n©b

Imagetext

 

Estonian National Opera

ImagetextThe Estonian National Opera, established in the year 1906, is a historic organisation with vital traditions and manifold functions.
The EsNO’s season, lasting 10 months from Sep until Jun, contains a varied repertoire of opera, ballet, operetta, musicals and children’ pieces. Around 250 performances of up to 30 different works are presented annually, including the cream of classical opera and operetta as well as contemporary masterpieces. On the top of that, the best works of Estonian origin are also shown on the stage!
The Estonian National Opera is the home of the symphony orchestra, the opera chorus and the ballet. The orchestra was founded in 1907 and it now employs almost a 100 musicians. In addition to its theatre assignments, the orchestra regularly performs symphonic works and records world classics as well as the best of Estonian music. The 54-strong opera chorus, besides participating in stage productions, consistently gives concerts on its own as well. The EsNO employs as many as 25−30 soloists. As a compliment to that, it welcomes guest singers on a regular basis. The EsNO ballet, existing within the framework of the opera company and employing approximately 60 dancers, is the country’s largest ballet troupe. Young choreographers are constantly enriching its repertoire of standard favourites with contemporary pieces and occasional avant-garde projects. In order to stay open to new ideas and fresh approaches, The EsNO always makes space and time in its working schedule for joint projects of multifarious nature, and for individual guest artists. For the latter to bring their unique experience onto our stage; for the Estonian audience, to partake of a different artistic vision.
Symbolically speaking, the EsNO’s location in the heart of Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn, is a reflection of the company’s artistic position − at the centre of Estonian culture.

Imagetext

See also recordings of Estonian National Opera by ERP: 11 CD jubilee-box Estonia – 100, double-CD Verdi Wagner 200, double-CD Cyrano de Bergerac, double-CD Lembitu, DVD Wallenberg, DVD Coppélia, CD Artist Chagall, CD + bonus DVD Voices of the Estonian National Opera / Estonia Ooperihääled, DVD Faust, DVD Modigliani − neetud kunstnik, DVD Georg Ots. Estonia legend, Super Audio CD La donna è  mobile

LogoEstonianNationalOpera                   

ALegendOfEstoniaA LEGEND OF ESTONIA

GEORG OTS
baritone

An exciting performing of baritone hits. Legendary Geord Ots performs Mozart, Verdi, Bizet, Rubinstein, Kálmán, Lehár, Ernesaks... in Estonian, Italian, Russian and German. Restored archive recordings. DVD will be released in September 2016 in co-operation with Estonian Public Broadcasting and Estonian National Opera.

 

1 M. Leigh Man of La Mancha The Impossible Dream 2:25
2 W. A. Mozart Don Giovanni Aria of Don Giovanni Fin ch’han dal vino 1:20
3 W. A. Mozart Don Giovanni Duet of Don Giovanni and Zerlina La ci darem la mano 3:17
4 A. Rubinstein The Demon Demon’s Romance Na vozdushnom okeane 4:20
5 G. Ernesaks The Coast of Storms Petrov’s aria My Homeland, Faw Away from You Has Taken Me the Road 3:32
6 G. Verdi Un balli in maschera Renato’s aria Alzati! la tuo figlio 6:23
7 G. Verdi Rigoletto Rigoletto’s aria Cortigiani, vil razza dannata 4:39
8 G. Verdi Otello Iago’s monologue Credo in un Dio crudel 4:34
9 W. A. Mozart Le nozze di Figaro Figaro’s aria Non piu andrai 3:40
10 W. A. Mozart Die Zauberflöte Papageno’s aria Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen 4:10
11 W. A. Mozart Don Giovanni Don Giovanni’s serenade Deh, vieni alla finestra 1:53
12 W. A. Mozart Le nozze di Figaro  Recitative and Figaro’s aria Tutto e disposto... 4:13
13 W. A. Mozart Die Zauberflöte  Aria of Papageno and duet of Papageno and Papagena Papagena... 8:26
14 G. Bizet Carmen Escamillo’s couplet Votre toast, je peux vous le render 4:33
15 Y. Milyutin Unsettled Happiness Andrey’s song Sibirskiy prostor, vekovaya taiga 4:26
16 I. Kálmán Gräfin Mariza Tasziló’s czárdás Auch ich war einst ein feiner Csárdáskavalier 5:26
17 I. Kálmán   Die Bajadere Radjami’s song Oh! Bajadere 2:27
18 F. Lehár Die Lustige Witwe Duet of Hanna and Danilo Bei jedem Walzenschritt 3:39
19 I. Kálmán   Die Zirkusprinzessin The song of Mr. X Wieder hinaus aus strahlende Licht 4:28
20 I. Kálmán   Der Zigeuneprimas Pali Rácz’s song Weit ist es mir gekommen 5:06
21 N. Listov Romance Ya pomnyu vals, zvuk prelestnyi 3:14
22 D. Kabalevski Colas Breugnon Colas’s lullaby Slavnaya zverushka 2:43
23 I. Kálmán   Der Zigeuneprimas Pali Rácz’s song Weit ist es mir gekommen 5:27

Estonian TV and Radio Symphony Orchestra (#2–4, 6–13, 17, 18, 23); Estonia Theatre Symphony Orchestra (#15, 22); Estonian TV and Radio Variety Orchestra (#1, 5); USSR State Radio & TV Symphony Orchestra (#14); USSR State Radio & TV Pops Orchestra (#16, 19–21)
Conductors: Kirill Raudsepp (#2–5, 22), Neeme Järvi (#6–13), Vallo Järvi (#15–18), Peeter Saul (#1, 23), Yuri Silantiev (#16, 19–21), Vladimir Delman (#14)

All videos on the DVD are from the ERR archive.

Directors, Artur Rinne (#2–4, 6, 8, 14–17), Astrid Lepa (#9–13), Leida Levald (#18), Irene Haak-Lään (#22), Eino Tandre (#1, 7), Maie Kivita, Silja Milli (#23)
Sound engineer, restorer: Jüri Kruus
Video editing: Kalle Käo (ERR)
DVD authoring and mastering: Jüri Tallinn
Designers: Stella Tillo, Mart Kivisild
Photos: Estonian National Opera archive
Liner notes: Arne Mikk, Tiina Õun
Booklet editors: Liina Viru, Tiina Õun
Artistic producer: Arne Mikk
Executive co-producer: Peeter Vähi

Duration 95 min
Screen format 16:9 / 4:3
PAL
Region: all

n©b
© 2016 Estonian National Opera & ERP
ERP 9216

 

Georg Ots – a legend of the Estonian National Opera

GeorgOts450Sergei Rachmaninoff once saw an inscription on a gravestone. “The only truly dead are those who have been forgotten” and he wrote: “If this is true, Chaliapin never dies. This wonderful artist with his magical gift is unforgettable... He will be a legend for the posterity.”
The same applies to Georg Ots, a soloist of the Estonian National Opera.
It might be argued that their voices were completely different, but their approach to the essence of every stage character in search of intonational variety or characteristic make-up details embraces a similar commitment.
Nature had given Georg Ots a baritone with a velvety timbre − a perfect voice for singing Mozart. This voice and his wonderful sense of music enchanted the audience in classical operetta roles and carried the romances of Schubert and Tchaikovsky to the listeners even in the very last rows.
The title role in Rubinstein’s opera The Demon has been a favourite role for all the dramatic voices, but Ots was the first to accentuate the suffering of this mystical character and his sorrowful yearning for love. The contrasts that Ots could bring out when singing the parts of Verdi’s Rigoletto or Iago could be clearly perceived even while listening to separate arias or watching separate scenes.
Georg Ots’ unique talent is a blend of features reflected by his wide-ranging knowledge of languages, the natural clarity of the text he sang and his organic movement on stage.
His life ended unjustly early due to an exhausting illness, but inspite of all his suffering, the audience and his colleagues always felt a Colas-Breugnon-like slogan radiating from Georg Ots − “We will live!” That is why his accomplishments as a singer will continue to live over times, and the legend of the great artist of a small nation will be passed on from generation to generation.

 

Georg Ots onstage

GeorgOtsMisterXGeorg Ots was born on March 21st, 1920 in Petrograd. He began his stage career as a chorus singer at the Estonian National Opera in 1944 and became a soloist already a year later. He graduated from Tallinn French Lyceum in 1938. The Soviet occupation that began in 1940 and the Second World War that reached the territory of Estonia in 1941 sent Georg Ots to the rear of the Soviet Union where he joined the State Art Ensembles of the Estonian SSR. Therefore he managed to graduate from Tallinn State Conservatory only in 1951, where he studied singing with the famous Estonian baritone Tiit Kuusik.
During the thirty years of his career at the Estonian National Opera (1945−1975), he created a whole gallery of roles polished in details and touched by his stage charm. He became a real star of opera and operetta and even more so on concert stages all over the Soviet Union and Finland. He was equally good as chamber music and lied singer and pop singer and also tried his hand at directing. Georg Ots has starred in many films − one of his top achievements was the film Mister X based on Imre Kálmán’s operetta Die Zirkusprinzessin that was produced by Lenfilm studios in 1958. His swan song was the staging of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in 1975. Unfortunately he did not finish his work... He died on September 5th, 1975.
His legacy is saved on numerous recordings, both solo and compilation albums. Georg Ots has been awarded many prizes and honorary titles. In 1960 he received the title of the Merited Artist of the Estonian SSR − the highest honorary title in the Soviet Union that artists could be awarded.
Since 1976 the Georg Ots Prize is awarded by the Estonian Theatre Union to outstanding Estonian opera singers, in 1996 a minor planet 1977 QAI received his name and Tallinn Georg Ots Music School is named after him as well as the street leading to the Estonian National Opera. There was a time when a sea liner carrying his name crossed the Gulf of Finland to take passengers to Helsinki.

 

Roles

D’Artagnan (Benatzky The Three Musketeers, 1945)
Sharpless (Puccini Madama Butterfly, 1945, 1949 and 1963)
Pierre / Red Shadow (Romberg The Desert Song, 1946 and 1963)
Silvio (Leoncavallo I pagliacci, 1946 and 1954)
Tonio (Leoncavallo I pagliacci, 1954)
Malatesta (Donizetti Don Pasquale, 1947)
Sándor Barinkay (J. Strauss Der Zigeunerbaron, 1948)
Valentin (Gounod Faust, 1949)
Onegin (Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin, 1949 and 1972)
Andrey (Milyutin Unsettled Happiness, 1949)
Petrov (Ernesaks The Coast of Storms, 1949)
Georges Germont (Verdi La traviata, 1950 and 1974)
Jim Kenyon (Frimli and Stothart Rose-Marie, 1950)
Don Giovanni (Mozart Don Giovanni, 1952)
Demon (Rubinstein The Demon, 1953 and 1962)
Rummu Jüri (E. Arro and L. Normet Rummu Jüri, 1955)
Danilo (Lehár Die lustige Witwe, 1955)
Escamillo (Bizet Carmen, 1955 and 1963)
Yeletsky (Tchaikovsky The Queen of Spades, 1957)
Radjami (Kálmán Die Bajadere, 1957)
Figaro (Mozart Le nozze di Figaro, 1958)
Tasziló (Kálmán Gräfin Mariza, 1959)
Renato (Verdi Un ballo in maschera, 1961)
Meelis (V. Kapp Lembitu, 1961)
Robert (Tchaikovsky Iolanta, 1961)
Marcello (Puccini La bohème, 1962)
Iago (Verdi Otello, 1963)
Papageno (Mozart Die Zauberflöte, 1964)
Amonasro (Verdi Aida, 1964)
Fred Graham (Porter Kiss Me, Kate, 1966)
Porgy (Gershwin Porgy and Bess, 1966)
Rigoletto (Verdi Rigoletto, 1968)
Barnaba (Ponchielli La Gioconda, 1969)
Olav (Aav Vikings, 1969)
Colas (Kabalevsky Colas Breugnon, 1970)
Cervantes/Don Quixote (Leigh Man of La Mancha, 1971)
Rodrigo (Verdi Don Carlo, 1971)
Gianni Schicchi (Puccini Gianni Schicchi, 1972)

 

See also other recordings of opera artists released by ERP: 11 CD jubilee-box Estonia – 100, DVD Faust, DVD Wallenberg, Cyrano de Bergerac, LembituVerdi Wagner 200, La donna è mobile, CD + bonus DVD Voices of the Estonian National Opera / Estonia Ooperihääled

Distribution by Estonian National Opera (phone +372 6831242; e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Brand new − DVD IN THE MYSTICAL LAND OF KAYDARA − will be presented on Feb 13th in Berlin and on Feb 18th in Shanghai.

Read more: In the Mystical Land of Kaydara

 

Faust350

CHARLES GOUNOD
FAUST

ESTONIAN NATIONAL OPERA

Released on Feb 26th, 2015.

When thus I hail the Moment flying:
“Ah, still delay—thou art so fair!”
Then bind me in thy bonds undying,
My final ruin then declare!
(J. W. Goethe Faust)

Opera: Act 1 1:14:50
Opera: Act 2 1:10:00

player Act I, audio-fragment, 5 min 47 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps
player Act II, audio-fragment, 8 min 42 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps
Watch player introduction of cast on YouTube (HD, 4 min 9 sec)


Performers

Doctor Faust: Oliver Kuusik
Méphistophélès, satan: Ain Anger (Wiener Staatsoper)
Marguerite: Joanna Freszel (Poland)
Valentin, soldier, Marguerite’s brother: Rauno Elp
Siébel, Faust’s student: Helen Lokuta
Wagner, Valentin’s friend: Mart Laur
Old Faust: Urmas Põldma
Faust’s new girlfriend: Airike Kolk
Dancers in the cabaret: dancers of the Estonian National Ballet

FaustSiebelHelenLokuta VelloPahn350

Conductor: Vello Pähn
Stage Director: Dmitri Bertman (Helikon-Opera, Moscow)
Designer: Ene-Liis Semper (NO99)
Choreographer: Edvald Smirnov (Russia)
Assistant to the Choreographer: Hedi Pundonen
Producer: Silva Valdt
Consultant on Acting: Helgi Sallo
Chorus Masters: Hirvo Surva, Marge Mehilane
Pianists-Repetiteurs: Tarmo Eespere, Riina Pikani, Ivo Sillamaa, Ralf Taal
Stage Manager: Rein Taidla

Video director: Ülle Õun
Recording producer: Ruth Alaküla
Sound engineers: Tanel Klesment, Kaspar Karner
DVD authoring and mastering by Jüri Tallinn
Photos: Harri Rospu, Liina Viru
Booklet compiled by Liina Viru
DVD design: Mart Kivisild
Producer: Peeter Vähi

PAL, 16:9, Region - All, Stereo, subtitles in English and Estonian
℗ 2014 ERR, © 2015 Estonian national Opera, ERP (Tallinn)
ERP 7915

 

SYNOPSIS

Prologue

Faust has dedicated his entire life to the stubborn and persistent study of the hidden secrets of the world; however, now, during the twilight of his life, the old scholar has come to understand the futility of human mind and science. “In vain − another sleepless night considering nature, and God. I languish alone, powerless to break the bonds that keep me in this world...”
He turns to Devil, cursing the world, his dreams, his thirst for knowledge, and even God. At that instant, Méphistophélès appears before him. Faust is confused and frightened. He tries to chase the Devil away − alas, in vain. Méphistophélès offers the old scholar wealth, fame and power. The latter can only be enticed with youth, which would help to ignite the flames of love in the heart of maiden Marguerite. The Archfiend agrees − Faust can become young again but only on one condition: here on earth, Méphistophélès is his humble servant; there, in Hell, Faust’s soul must belong to the Devil. The old scholar signs the contract.

FaustAct1Scene

Act I

The city is filled with joyous excitement. There is laughter and jesting. Only Marguerite’s brother Valentin is not in festive spirits. He is going away to war and his beloved sister will stay behind alone. Valentin turns to God with the prayer to guard Marguerite from evil and temptation. Valentin’s friend Siebel vows to protect the maiden.
The attention of the crowd turns to the stranger who has joined them. This is Méphistophélès, retelling about the omnipotence of gold that will lead humankind to sorrow and carnage. He predicts that Wagner is about to face a woeful future and asserts that Siebel’s touch will make all flowers wither. Unexpectedly, Méphistophélès proposes to drink to Marguerite. The offended friends of the young woman decide to punish the insolent stranger. Valentin is the first to draw his sword only to see it shatter instantly. The young men realise that Satan himself is standing before them.
FaustAct1Faust is yearning to meet Marguerite. The man sees the maiden, approaches her and tries to engage her in conversation. Marguerite answers curtly and hurries to leave. Having been rejected by the beauty, Faust is desperate and depressed. Méphistophélès encourages the young man and promises to help Faust in his endeavours to conquer the heart of the maiden.
Siebel sings of love. However, the flowers he has picked wither at his first touch. Faust and Méphistophélès are in the garden. The latter is convinced that Faust’s wonderful presents will help to win his way into the heart of the young enchantress. Faust and Méphistophélès exit, leaving behind a jewel box. Marguerite enters. She is singing an old ballad of a king but her thoughts keep returning to the young stranger. She notices Siebel's bouquet of flowers and a mysterious box next to it. She gives in to temptation and tries on the jewellery.
At last, Faust and Marguerite are alone. The young man cannot hide his feelings any longer. Méphistophélès commands the night to embrace the lovers with its shadow and “you, the fragrant flowers: Bloom in my satanic hands”. The passionate and tender confessions of Faust have deeply affected the maiden. In a blissful excitement, Marguerite turns to the stars entrusting them with her secret.

Act II

A triumphant military march signals the warriors’ return from the battle. Valentin is among the brave fighters. He is delighted to return to his native town and to be reunited with his friends. He is astonished by the behaviour of Siebel − the young man is distant and asks Valentin not to get angry with Marguerite. Valentin hurries to meet his beloved sister.
Valentin, having learned of Marguerite’s situation, draws his sword: whoever disgraced Marguerite must be punished! But Faust is not threatened by the duel. He has Méphistophélès’ protection, so the fight is going to be a short one. Faust deals a fatal blow to Valentin. A crowd gathers around the dying man. Marguerite attempts to alleviate her brother's suffering but he pushes her away in anger. Valentin curses his sister and foretells a shameful death for her.
The church is resonant with the austere and dreary sound of an organ. Marguerite is trying to soothe her guilty conscience with prayers. However, in response, she hears awful words: “For you damnation! For you the fires of Hell!”
In despair, Marguerite kills her baby. The insane woman is declared a criminal and thrown in prison. She faces execution. Unbeknownst to everyone, Faust and Méphistophélès enter the prison. The maiden can only be saved before the dawn when the guard is fast asleep. Marguerite recognised the voice of her beloved. The anxious Méphistophélès rushes Faust: soon, it will be dawn. Marguerite refuses to leave with him − she is frightened by the evil she senses in the darkness. Salvation lies in sincerity and faith!

FaustOldFaustUrmasPoldma

See also: libretto in Estonian and in English.

“FAUST” AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF THE STAGE DIRECTOR

Why “Faust”?
Gounod’s “Faust” is one of the most popular operas in the world − the majority of people can hum Méphistophélès’ aria by heart without trouble and with much enjoyment. There is something spellbinding in dark forces − alas, even children are more interested in evil sorcerers, witches and skeletons than in the love stories of princes and princesses.

Religion and sin in the opera?
It seems that due to lack of demand, Méphistophélès will become unemployed on Earth, because humans are willingly doing his job for him. Giving in to temptations is the favourite pastime of humans and we love to fall prey to it. Turning to God is man’s last resort: when the effect of pills wears out, when there is no one to talk to, when one is lonely at heart, when one has nothing to strive for... And only the chosen are redeemed.

FaustMaphistoAinAngerThe essence of Faust’s yearnings?
Faust’s reason to regain his youth seems strange to me. As a learned man, Doctor and lawyer, he does not ask Méphistophélès to give him back his youth to make another discovery or write another book or create something that still needs to be invented. He longs for a youthful body only to seduce Marguerite...

Méphistophélès?
Méphistophélès looks for challenges and a battle, but humans are willingly doing his job for him. Therefore he cries in solitude for our ravenous world.

Gounod versus Goethe?
Even Gounod could not spoil Goethe! Gounod made the music of his opera very melodious and simple, so that even those, who have not read Goethe’s masterpiece, would understand this powerful story.

Marguerite?
Marguerite was innocent enough to let Faust seduce her. In their first duet she tells Faust that she is ready to die for him. Faust charms Marguerite, who flees offended, because Faust does not understand the nobility of her feelings. But temptation brings her back! In her anguish, she turns to God and is redeemed. I love her!

Dmitry Bertman, stage director

 

“FAUST” AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DESIGNER

Where does the work on a staging begin for a designer?
In case of an opera, music plays an important part. Before starting work, I listened to “Faust” several times and watched several DVDs with productions from all over the world but I didn’t really feel overly excited about any of them. They all seemed predictable and safe somehow. Then I started searching for my own approach. I had the idea of an upside-down world – at the moment when Faust makes the bargain with the devil and regains his youth, everything around him changes. Usually, the rejuvenation of Faust is depicted merely by changing the looks of the character, for instance by removing his beard. It seemed to me, however, that in the eyes of Faust, the world should change with him. The director loved the idea. Changing the whole world from one extreme to another, in other words from the church into the cabaret, adds a level of conditionality to the staging, and other characters can proceed from that as well. This allows us to evade the classical, true-to-history approach and at the same time, different lines of action can develop between the arias.

For Dima, his vision of Méphistophélès is important − the devil always presents a person with two choices: give in to temptation or deny it. Each time when a person is presented with the choices, he chooses the one that is worse and this poses a question: should a creature as stupid as a human being be given a choice in the first place? Méphistophélès, however, doesn’t give up hope… In Dima’s vision, the devil is always tremendously sad when people choose temptation. I find it quite inspiring – a Méphistophélès who is sad over Faust’s persistently wrong choices!

What are the possibilities that Gonoud’s “Faust” offers to a stage designer? Is this an exciting challenge?
I feel that the music and the all-encompassing subject matter make it a serious challenge. If Dima and I hadn’t each found our own proceeding points then we would have been in trouble. There’s no way I would have wanted to drag on one of these classical traditional solutions… this would have seemed boring, a defeat. Now everything is shown in a different light and new connections emerge constantly. An example: when we change all church-goers into cabaret crowd then we immediately run into the question of what is a decent girl like Marguerite doing there. The only way to introduce her into the cabaret atmosphere is to turn her into a waitress making an honest living. In the second act, her brother Valentin comes back from the war and asks for his sister. What he sees is a strange waitress who just reminds him of his sister. It appears that Marguerite has been let go because she flirted with Faust. When placed in a specific environment, logical relations emerge between characters and they are no longer abstract, just because “the libretto says so”. This adds playfulness to the opera.

With “Faust”, the character of Siebel was also a great challenge, as he is interpreted by both countertenors and mezzo-sopranos. It is always relatively implausible when a woman in trousers expresses her love for another woman. Here we are presented with a task that seems almost too difficult to solve. But each idea has to be adopted in some way. For me, Siebel is a character who is always present without anyone noticing him. He’s a tragic, unnoticed lover; a person who is diligent and nice but thoroughly uncharismatic. It could be said that he is a sad clown. We did the first makeup rehearsal with Helen Lokuta and it was absolutely hilarious! Now we are trying to proceed from here. Of course, other characters need to be revised in a similar light – maybe we also need to make Méphistophélès more theatrical.

What are the decisive points of this opera for you?
The price of Faust’s rejuvenation. The price of one intoxicating moment. So familiar, so human, so tragic.

FaustMargareteJoannaFreszelWhat is the basis for creating the set and the costumes?
Giving characteristic traits to a character is a single task shared by the director, the artist and the actor. As in our case, the director sees the character of Méphistophélès in an unexpected and more human light, then obviously the character of Faust becomes more negative next to him. I’m trying to observe what’s happening in the rehearsals and how these relations come together. When I’m giving faces to characters I generally try to make it interesting for myself as well. When you have dealt with some material long enough and stayed open-minded towards it, then you’ll come to recognise the traits that are right. You can’t lose interest in creating new characters and new combinations. I remember when I first met Dima. Five years ago Paul Himma, who was the head of the Estonian National Opera at the time, called me and introduced me to Dima in the hopes that if we “clicked”, we could create Tüür’s “Wallenberg” together. I hadn’t heard of Dmitri Bertman before, I hadn’t met him. I was quite busy at the time and thought that unless I really liked the guy I was going to say no. Dima took an international opera magazine that was lying on the table and flicked through it in front of me, pointing out different photos and headings: “Boring! Boring! Boring! Boring! Annoying! Boring! Annoying!” He put down the magazine, smiled, and said, “Hey, how about if we do something interesting?” I started to laugh too. Dima is still a very good friend of mine. Isn’t this a great story?

Ene-Liis Semper, designer

Download the front cover (JPG. 300 dpi, 1.4 MB)
Download high-resolution photographs: Scene, act I (photo by Harry Rospu, JPG, RGB, 300 dpi, 17.6 MB), Old Faust − Urmas Põldma (photo by Harry Rospu, JPG, RGB, 300 dpi, 17.1 MB)

Estonia100Riba

Estonian National Opera

ImagetextThe Estonian National Opera, established in the year 1906, is a historic organisation with vital traditions and manifold functions.
The EsNO’s season, lasting 10 months from Sep until Jun, contains a varied repertoire of opera, ballet, operetta, musicals and children’ pieces. Around 250 performances of up to 30 different works are presented annually, including the cream of classical opera and operetta as well as contemporary masterpieces. On the top of that, the best works of Estonian origin are also shown on the stage!
The Estonian National Opera is the home of the symphony orchestra, the opera chorus and the ballet. The orchestra was founded in 1907 and it now employs almost a 100 musicians. In addition to its theatre assignments, the orchestra regularly performs symphonic works and records world classics as well as the best of Estonian music. The 54-strong opera chorus, besides participating in stage productions, consistently gives concerts on its own as well. The EsNO employs as many as 25−30 soloists. As a compliment to that, it welcomes guest singers on a regular basis. The EsNO ballet, existing within the framework of the opera company and employing approximately 60 dancers, is the country’s largest ballet troupe. Young choreographers are constantly enriching its repertoire of standard favourites with contemporary pieces and occasional avant-garde projects. In order to stay open to new ideas and fresh approaches, The EsNO always makes space and time in its working schedule for joint projects of multifarious nature, and for individual guest artists. For the latter to bring their unique experience onto our stage; for the Estonian audience, to partake of a different artistic vision.
Symbolically speaking, the EsNO’s location in the heart of Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn, is a reflection of the company’s artistic position – at the centre of Estonian culture.

Other recordings of Estonian National Opera by: 11 CD jubilee-box Estonia – 100, DVD Wallenberg, Cyrano de Bergerac, Lembitu, Artist Chagall, Verdi Wagner 200, DVD Coppélia, DVD Modigliani − the Cursed Artist, CD + bonus DVD Voices of the Estonian National Opera / Estonia Ooperihääled

Distribution by Estonian National Opera (Estonia Avenue 4, Tallinn 10148, Estonia, phone +372 6831242, fax +372 6313080)

LogoEstonianNationalOpera

DVD. New! MODIGLIANI − THE CURSED ARTIST. The ballet by Tauno Aints and Thomas Edur. Estonian National Ballet

Read more: Modigliani - the Cursed Artist

DVD AD PATREM MEUM − Anna-Liisa Bezrodny (violin), Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta, conductor Mikhail Leontyev

Read more: Ad patrem meum

The European Union Baroque Orchestra and its partner organisations are proud to announce that a new 4-year European large-scale co-operation project EUBO Mobile Baroque Academy (EMBA) launched with co-funding from the European Commission. EMBA will nurture the performance of Europe’s distinctive shared heritage of Baroque music, and the education of emerging Europe-wide talent, bringing Baroque music to new audiences in innovative ways across Europe. EMBA partners are: European Union Baroque Orchestra, Association of European Conservatoires, Concerto Copenhagen, Estonian Record Productions, Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz, Trifolion Festival Ville d’Echternach, The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag, Universitatea Nationala De Muzica Din Bucuresti, and St John’s Smith Square, London.

Read more: Joy and Sorrow Unmasked

DVD. New! COPPÉLIA by Léo Delibes. Estonian National Ballet

Read more: Coppélia

ImagetextVOICES
OF THE ESTONIAN NATIONAL OPERA

ESTONIA OOPERIHÄÄLED

Most popular opera arias and ensembles.

 

1 G Rossini La Cenerentola E allor... Si, ritrovarla io giuro 6:49
2 G Rossini La Cenerentola Nacqui all’affanno 8:07
3 W A Mozart Don Giovanni Madamina, il catalogo è questo 5:48
4 W A Mozart Don Giovanni Lá ci darem la mano 3:06
5 W A Mozart Così fan tutte Alla bella Despinetta 4:46
6 G Bizet Carmen Hol?! Carmen! Hol?! Hol?! 3:53
7 P Mascagni Cavalleria rusticana Mamma, quel vino è generoso 3:28
8 P Tchaikovsky The Queen of Spades Akh, istomilas y gorem 4:45
9 R Leoncavallo Pagliacci Si può? Singore! Signori! 5:18
10 G Puccini Tosca Tre sbirri, una carrozza 4:11
11 R Wagner Tristan und Isolde Prelude 11:05
12 R Wagner Tristan und Isolde Mild und leise wie er lächelt 6:50

Imagetext

Performed by Riina Airenne, Rauno Elp, Nadia Kurem, Oliver Kuusik, Andres Köster, Mart Laur, Juuli Lill, Helen Lokuta, Mart Madiste, Urmas Põldma, Aare Saal, René Soom, Janne Ševtšenko, Jassi Zahharov, Valentīna Tāluma, Heli Veskus, Priit Volmer
Estonian National Opera Chorus, chorus master Elmo Tiisvald
Estonian National Opera Orchestra
Conductor – Jüri Alperten

Recorded in Estonia Concert Hall, Tallinn, Aug 24th–26th, 2009
In co-operation with Estonian Broadcasting Corporation
Recording engineer – Enno Mäemets (Editroom)
Assistant engineer – Jaan Tsadurjan
Edited and mastered by AudioMaja
Texts by Liina Viru
Designed by Stella Tillo
Photos by Harri Rospu
Interviews by Arne Mikk
Video by Kalev Timuska, Janek Karakatš, Ivika Paart, Paavo Piiparinen, Rasmus Pembel, Anton Kulagin
DVD authoring and mastering by Jüri Tallinn
Artistic producer – Peeter Vähi
Executive producer – Aivar Mäe

Total time 69:17
Stereo
Manufactured by Baltic Disc
ERP 2409
+ bonus DVD
2009

player #1, Rossini La Cenerentola, fragm, soloist Oliver Kuusik, 2 min 37 sec, mp3
player #2, Rossini La Cenerentola, fragm, soloist Helen Lokuta, 3 min 22 sec, mp3
player #10, Puccini Tosca, fragm, soloist Jassi Zahharov, 2 min 59 sec, mp3
player #12, Wagner Tristan und Isolde, fragm, soloist Heli Veskus, 3 min 18 sec, mp3

Imagetext

La Cenerentola 

Imagetext

Estonian National Opera

Imagetext

The Estonian National Opera, established in the year 1906, is a historic organisation with vital traditions and manifold functions.
The EsNO’s season, lasting 10 months from Sep until Jun, contains a varied repertoire of opera, ballet, operetta, musicals and children’ pieces. Around 250 performances of up to 30 different works are presented annually, including the cream of classical opera and operetta as well as contemporary masterpieces. On the top of that, the best works of Estonian origin are also shown on the stage!
The Estonian National Opera is the home of the symphony orchestra, the opera chorus and the ballet. The orchestra was founded in 1907 and it now employs almost a 100 musicians. In addition to its theatre assignments, the orchestra regularly performs symphonic works and records world classics as well as the best of Estonian music. The 54-strong opera chorus, besides participating in stage productions, consistently gives concerts on its own as well. The EsNO employs as many as 25–30 soloists. As a compliment to that, it welcomes guest singers on a regular basis. The EsNO ballet, existing within the framework of the opera company and employing approximately 60 dancers, is the country’s largest ballet troupe. Young choreographers are constantly enriching its repertoire of standard favourites with contemporary pieces and occasional avant-garde projects. In order to stay open to new ideas and fresh approaches, The EsNO always makes space and time in its working schedule for joint projects of multifarious nature, and for individual guest artists. For the latter to bring their unique experience onto our stage; for the Estonian audience, to partake of a different artistic vision.
Symbolically speaking, the EsNO’s location in the heart of Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn, is a reflection of the company’s artistic position – at the centre of Estonian culture.

Imagetext

Press resonances

Distribution by the Estonian National Opera and Easy Living Music ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone +372 51 06058)

Other records of Estonian National Opera produced by ERP: “Estonia” – 100 (11 CD jubilee-box), Cyrano de Bergerac, Lembitu, Verdi Wagner 200, DVD Wallenberg, DVD Coppélia, DVD Modigliani − the Cursed Artist, DVD Faust, Artist Chagall, DVD Georg Udukübara aaria
Imagetext
See also: Estonian National Opera at Glasperlenspiel Festival

Imagetext

ERKKI-SVEN TÜÜR
WALLENBERG


LIBRETTO
IN ESTONIAN

Erkki-Sven Tüüri ainus ooper DVD’l Rahvusooper Estonia esituses. “Härra Wallenberg, minu perekond mahub Teie mantlitaskusse. Minu perekond määrib ära Teie sõrmed. Te võite seda kraapida Poola põldudelt, puude lehtedelt ja katusekividelt. Sellest pole niigi palju järel, et võiksite tuhast risti oma laubale maalida. Mitte niigi palju, et sõdur hakkaks köhima, kui nad talle kõrisse lendavad.”

 

Libreto. Eesti keeles

Libreto: Lutz Hübner
Tõlge eesti keelde: Heli Mattisen

Imagetext  Imagetext

I VAATUS

I ELLUJÄÄNU
Kas peame Wallenbergi austama?

II ELLUJÄÄNU
Keda siis, kui mitte teda?

KOOR
Mida ta tegi? Miks ta seda tegi? Kelle pärast ta seda tegi?

III ELLUJÄÄNU
Mis on tähtis: Kas see, et aidatakse ja et elatakse või see, miks aidatakse?

KOOR
Mida ta tegi?

II ELLUJÄÄNU
Aga kas me austame elavat või surnut?

KOOR
Miks ta seda tegi?

III ELLUJÄÄNU
Mis hoolib sellest puu, mis kasvab tema auks?
Mis hoolib sellest sillutis tänaval, mis kannab tema nime?

KOOR
Kui ta on surnud, siis kus on ta haud?
Kui ta elab, siis kus hoitakse teda vangis?

I ELLUJÄÄNU
Kui ta on Õiglane rahvaste seas,
on siis tähtis, kas ta elab või on surnud?

II ELLUJÄÄNU
Kas “tegu” on näide tulevast? Kas mälestus on tähtsam
kui inimene, kes elab ning sureb selle mälestuse varjus?

III ELLUJÄÄNU
Loeb näide, mitte inimene.

KOOR
Aga kus on Wallenberg?


KONVERENTS I

I KÜLALINE
Kus on Raoul Wallenberg?

II KÜLALINE
Miks me teda ootame?

III KÜLALINE
Miks ta siia kutsuti?

I DIPLOMAAT
Meil on temaga midagi plaanis.
Ta on meie mees.

I KÜLALINE
Miks just tema?

I DIPLOMAAT
Tema on Wallenberg.

II KÜLALINE
Ei midagi vähemat kui Wallenberg, aga ka mitte midagi enamat.

III KÜLALINE
Nimi on üks asi, inimene midagi muud.

I KÜLALINE
Ta õppis veidi juurat.

II KÜLALINE
Aga see talle ei istunud.

I KÜLALINE
Ta õppis veidi arhitektuuri.

II KÜLALINE
Aga see talle ei istunud.

I KÜLALINE
Ta õppis veidi pangandust.

II KÜLALINE
Aga see talle ei istunud.

I KÜLALINE
Ta kaupleb veidi delikatessidega.

II KÜLALINE
Aga see talle ei istu.

III KÜLALINE
Poolik inimene.

I DIPLOMAAT
Aga ta on Wallenberg.

III KÜLALINE
Ükski nimi ei saa tema kandja vastu.

I DIPLOMAAT
Ta on Wallenberg.
Nimi, mis suudab uksi lahti teha.

II DIPLOMAAT
Wallenberg on pank, mis teeb poolikuid tehinguid,
pooleldi sakslastega, pooleldi meiega.

III DIPLOMAAT
Wallenberg on nimi,
mida poolik inimene ei täida, seal on veel paljuks ruumi,
mis poolikule inimesele peab jääma teadmata.

I DIPLOMAAT
Ja Wallenberg on nimi, millel on hea kõla, seal,
kus poolikute lausetega tehakse terviklikke pakkumisi.

(Tuleb Wallenberg)

I DIPLOMAAT
Härra Wallenberg, meil on Teile ülesanne.

II DIPLOMAAT
Ameerika presidendi ja Põgenikeabi ülesanne.

III DIPLOMAAT
Minge Budapesti ja püüdke päästa
nii palju inimesi kui võimalik!

WALLENBERG
Andke mulle mõtlemisaega.

I KÜLALINE
Wallenberg, miks sa peaksid seda tegema?

II KÜLALINE
See on kohutav, mis juutidega tehakse.

III KÜLALINE
Aga kas see on meie probleem?

DAAM
Mis see sinusse puutub, kui president avastab oma südames
kaastunde juutide vastu, sest valimisvõitlus on tulekul.
Mis see sinusse puutub, kui salateenistus tahab teha sinust
oma diplomaatia marionetti. Mis puutub sinusse sõda?
Mis puutub sinusse poliitika?

WALLENBERG
Ma vajan mõtlemisaega.

I DIPLOMAAT
Kas Te olete otsustanud, Wallenberg?

WALLENBERG
Mind on ainult üks.

III DIPLOMAAT
Me anname Teile raha.

WALLENBERG
Mind on ainult üks.

I DIPLOMAAT
Kas Te tahate oma elu lõpetada
pelgalt hanemaksade importijana?

WALLENBERG
Mind on ainult üks.

III DIPLOMAAT
Diplomaatiline puutumatus!

II DIPLOMAAT
Kas Te tahate olla elu lõpuni
pelgalt ühe suure nime ripats?

WALLENBERG
Mind on ainult üks.

III DIPLOMAAT
Aadressid, informatsioon!

I DIPLOMAAT
Kas Te tahate oma elu lõpetada inimesena,
kellel pole miski õnnestunud?

III DIPLOMAAT
Me näitame Teile kätte Teie sõbrad ja Teie vaenlased.

II DIPLOMAAT
Kas Te ei taha olla kordki kasulik?

WALLENBERG
Jaa!
Ma mõtlesin viis minutit järele.
Nende viie minutiga tapeti viis inimest, lasti maha,
mürgitati gaasiga, löödi surnuks.
Iga minut, mis mul minekuks kulub,
maksab ühe inimelu.


RONGIJAAM I

WALLENBERG
Mida Te teete?

OHVITSER
Kas sul pole silmi peas või? Siin tehakse tööd,
me täidame oma kohust.
Tuhat juuti, iga päev, iga tund üks rong.
Tuhat nimekirja, tuhat sõiduplaani.
Sada oli neid eelmisel nädalal, tuhat on sellel nädalal,
kaks tuhat järgmisel nädalal, iga päev,
kakskümmend neli tundi järjest,
iga minut, mil keegi esitab rumalaid küsimusi,
on kaduma läinud minut.

WALLENBERG
Miks just need inimesed?

OHVITSER
Tuhanded küsivad iga päev, kes küsib, on juut!
Kes kannab numbrit, mis jääb ühe ja tuhande vahele, see on juut!
Kes nendesse vagunitesse siseneb, on juut!
Kes maha lastakse seepärast, et mul pole aega vastata, on juut!
Kas sa tahad vagunisse minna või edasi küsida?

WALLENBERG
Mina olen rootslane.

OHVITSER
Ma võin ka rootslasest juudi teha.
Minema astuda!

WALLENBERG
Ma olen puutumatu.

OHVITSER
Ma suudan vastupidist tõestada.
Minema astuda!

WALLENBERG
Ma olen diplomaat.

OHVITSER
Minema astuda!

WALLENBERG
Oodake, see mees on rootslane, järelikult puutumatu.

OHVITSER
On see kindel?

WALLENBERG
Jaa!

OHVITSER
Tõendid!

OHVITSER
Pass saab võitu relvast,
aga relv saab võitu inimesest.

(Tapab mehe)

OHVITSER
Kas nägid? Juut!


PLAAN I

Pass saab võitu relvast,
relv inimesest.
Mida suudab veri tindi vastu?
Mida suudab kuul templi vastu?
Minu käes tuksub mu süda...
Tuhanded juudid aetakse homme hommikul nende majadest välja.
Tuhanded rootslased tulevad homme õhtul oma majadesse tagasi.


RONGIJAAM II

OHVITSER
Sina siia ja sina sinna!
Liiguta end, meil pole lõpmatult aega!

OHVITSER
Juba jälle Teie!
Lahkuge otsekohe perroonilt!

WALLENBERG
Seis, sellel mehel seal on pass,
ja sellel samuti,
sina seal, sul on ju pass, või kuidas?
Ja sina, sul on ju ka pass, eks ole?
Siia veoauto juurde, aga ruttu!

OHVITSER
Mida Te teete?

WALLENBERG
Kas Teil pole silmi peas?
Siin tehakse tööd, ma täidan oma kohust.
Sada rootslast, iga päev,
kakskümmend neli tundi järjest,
ja iga minut,
mil mõni esitab rumalaid küsimusi,
on kaduma läinud minut.
Minema astuda!

OHVITSER
Need on juudid.
Teil Pole selleks õigust!

WALLENBERG
See, kellel on see pass, on rootslane.
Kes on rootslane, seda määran mina.
Kes on rootslane, on puutumatu.
Kas ma pean sinu peale kaebama? Kas sa tahad rindele tagasi?
Tee oma tööd, lase minul teha oma
ja nüüd astu kõrvale, enne kui ma teatan kuhu vaja.
Mul pole aega, kas said aru?
Pass saab võitu inimesest, pass saab võitu relvast.
Tulista neid! Kas võtad endale selle vastutuse?
Järgmine kuul tabab sind, sest sa
ajasid juudid rootslastega segi.
Minema astuda, ütlesin ma!


PÄÄSTETUD

WALLENBERG
Minge koju, te olete minu kaitse all.

I
Paber võib kaduma minna. See kukub rentslisse.

II
See võidakse puruks rebida, varastada.

III
Paber on kannatlik, liiga kannatlik.

WALLENBERG
Te olete Rootsi kaitse all.

II
See on ainult paber, me oleme
ka paberist tugevamat usaldanud.

WALLENBERG
Aga see paber tähendab elu.

I
Paber ei leevenda nälga, ei soojenda.
Elu on rohkemat kui olla mittesurnud.

NAINE
Ma tänan Teid selle paberi eest.
Ma tänan teid oma noorima poja päästmise eest.

WALLENBERG
Kus on Teie ülejäänud lapsed?

(Naine lahkub nuttes)
 

PLAAN II

WALLENBERG
Sellest, mis teen, ei piisa!
Vagunis mitteolemisest ei piisa!
Gaasikambrisse mitteminemisest ei piisa!
Mahalaskmisest pääsemine pole piisav,
mitteolemisest tapaloomaks
ja arvuks ühe ja tuhande vahel ei piisa!
Olla inimene ilma voodita, ilma katuseta pea kohal,
ilma söögi ja joogita – see pole piisav!
Pass, tükike vaba maad, vaid käelaba suurune, sellest ei piisa.
Maja pole piisav, kuid see oleks algus. Teised inimesed,
kes oma elu minutitel teisi surmasuust välja kisuvad,
seegi pole piisav. Kuid see oleks algus.
Üksnes surma saabaste vastu võitlemisest ei piisa.
Tunda tema nägu või kätt,
millega ta kägistab, sellest ei piisa,
aga see oleks algus!


EICHMANN I

KAASTÖÖTAJAD
Keda Te ootate, Wallenberg?
Kellele toote ohvriks oma aja?
Kes on Teie jaoks nii tähtis,
et ootate teda terve tunni?
Kas Kivist Külaline, härra Wallenberg?

WALLENBERG
Ma kutsusin ta külla, et saada teada,
millest ta on tehtud.

EICHMANN
Jäin hiljaks, vabandust, mu härrased,
aga tööl pole lõppu.
Mitte keegi ei tea seda paremini kui võõrustaja,
see juudimajade isand, juudikoer.
Kogu Budapest sahiseb kollastest lehtedest,
vaevu veel on näha kollaseid tähti
kogu selle rootsi lehesaju juures,
mis meie linna peale on langenud, aitab naljast!
Polegi pikki lusikaid, härra Wallenberg?
Te sööte koos Saatanaga, kas Te ei teagi seda?
Aitab naljast, asja juurde!
Kas Teie sõbrad ei taha veel paari juuti päästa,
kuniks neid veel Budapestis on?

(Kaastöötajad lahkuvad ruumist)

WALLENBERG
Kas Teie saatjad ei taha püüda neid selles takistada?

EICHMANN
Te ei kutsunud mind külla mitte seepärast,
et keegi teine koos Teiega ei söö, Teil on linnas sõpru
ja iga päevaga üha rohkem. Teil on sõbrad ka mujal,
Te ei söö minuga koos sellepärast, et Te sakslasi armastate,
Te pole mitte sellepärast siin, et Te ungarlasi armastate
ja Te ei päästa ka juute sellepärast, et Te neid armastate,
asja juurde. Mida Te tahate? Mis on Teie ülesanne?

WALLENBERG
Ma olen siin selleks, et inimesi päästa.
See on mu ülesanne, ei miski muu.

EICHMANN
Seda ma ei usu, Wallenberg.

WALLENBERG
Miks Teie siin olete, härra Eichmann?

EICHMANN
Ma transpordin inimesi siit sinna,
ei midagi enamat. See on mu ülesanne.

WALLENBERG
Siin on inimesed, kes elavad,
kuna mina olen siin, ja mida kauem ma siin olen,
seda rohkem neid saab.

EICHMANN
Mida kauem olen siin mina, seda vähem saab olema inimesi,
keda Te päästa saate. See on matemaatika,
seda Te peate ju ometi teadma! Te olete pankur,
Te olete kaupmees, lisaks kõigele veel halb kaupmees.
Te pole millestki aru saanud. Te armastate inimesi,
selles on Teie viga. Mina austan juute, ma olin Palestiinas,
ma tunnen nende keelt, nende ajalugu, ma loen juutide raamatuid.
Aga minu ülesanne on kalkulatsioonid, sõiduplaanid,
kontingendid, üksused, haldamine, nimekirjad ja evakuatsioon.
Mina peenrahaga ei tegele. Aitab naljast!
Teid on vaid üks, ei enam, sellest ei piisa.

WALLENBERG
Te eksite, ma ei ole üksi.
Mul on üks liitlane: Aeg.
See töötab minu heaks, mitte Teie heaks.

EICHMANN
See pole mitte esimene põlev linn, mida ma näen.
Pole minu ülesanne seda kustutada.
Aitab naljast, mis on Teie pakkumine?

WALLENBERG
Lõpetage. Te olete kaotanud.

EICHMANN
Linn põleb ja Teie trükite passe.
Pass on tükike paberit, eks ole? See võib ära põleda.
Turvamaja on ainult maja, millel lehvib Rootsi lipp, eks ole?
See võib maha põleda.
See põleb niisama kergelt nagu inimene.

DIPLOMAADID
Kas sa tead seda, Wallenberg?
Kas sa tead, milline on kurss juutide suhtes?

EICHMANN
Puutumatus on pelgalt kokkulepe, eks ole?
Rootsi on üksnes maa kaugel põhjas, eks ole?
Kokkuleppe võib unustada, eks ole?
Põhi on Ungarist kaugel, eks ole?

DIPLOMAADID
Kümme tuhat juuti ühe veoauto eest?
Kaks miljonit juuti rahu eest?
Kas sa ei tea, et inimene on kaup?

EICHMANN
Diplomaadile võib auto otsa sõita, ta võib sillalt alla
kukkuda või kuriteo ohvriks langeda, eks ole?
Me elame ajal, mil juhtub nii mõndagi. Iga minut toob kaasa
uusi küsimusi. Kas Te olete nende küsimuste üle juba mõelnud?
Mida on väärt inimene, kui iga päev läheb
viis tuhat gaasikambrisse?
Mida on väärt turvapass, kui iga päev
antakse tuhat välja?
Mida on väärt turvapass, kui see on igaühel olemas?
Kas sa ei tunne inflatsiooni reegleid?

EICHMANN
Kas Te olete juba sellele mõelnud,
et ma võin oma arvamust muuta?

DIPLOMAADID
Kas sa tead, milline on kurss?
Kas sa tead, kelle kätes see on?

EICHMANN
Või et teised oma arvamust muudavad?

DIPLOMAADID
Kas sa tead, mis on su väärtus sõjabörsil?

EICHMANN
Kas Te olete juba mõelnud sellele,
miks Teil lastakse teha seda, mida Te teete?

DIPLOMAADID
Kas sa tead, miks sa veel elad?

EICHMANN
Kas Teie ei tea seda?
Kas Te ei tea?!

WALLENBERG
Iga küsimus on kaotatud minut.
Iga minut tapab.
Iga minut viib meid lähemale tapmise lõpule.
Ka siis, kui aeg
on minu poolel. Mul pole aega!

(Eichmann lahkub)
 

RONGIJAAM III

WALLENBERG
Sekretär.
Raamatupidaja.
Telefonist.
Autojuht.
Majahoidja.
 

NAINE
Härra Wallenberg?

WALLENBERG
Käskjalg. Teine sekretär. Toiduainete jagaja.
Kuller. Kas sa vajad tööd?
Kas sa tahad telefoneerida?
Kas sa tahad raamatupidajaks?
Kas sa tahad toiduaineid jagada?
Kas sa tahad nimekirju koostada?

NAINE
Härra Wallenberg, ma tahan Teile oma kaitsepassi tagasi anda.
Ma tahan oma perekonna juurde.

WALLENBERG
Too nad siia, mul on kõigile rakendust.
Too nad siia, ma annan neile turvapassid.

NAINE
Härra Wallenberg, minu perekond mahub Teie mantlitaskusse.
Minu perekond määrib ära Teie sõrmed.
Te võite neid kokku kraapida Poola põldudelt, puude lehtedelt
ja viilkatuste harjadelt, nendest pole niigi palju järel,
et Te võiksite tuhast risti oma laubale maalida,
mitte niigi palju, et sõdur hakkas köhima,
kui nad talle kurku lendavad. Nemad ootasid mind kodus,
kuid koputaja polnud mina. Milleks mulle mu kingiks saadud elu,
kuidas saan elada süütundega, et läksin ühel päeval
tänavale siis, kui teised jäid majja.
Kas pean oma elu rajama jalutuskäigule ja õnnele,
et kohtusin Teiega?
Öelge mulle, kuidas pean üle saama süütundest
sellepärast, et elan?
(Naine astub rongile)


PLAAN III

WALLENBERG
Ma suren igaühes, keda ma päästa ei saa. Ma suren igaühes,
kelle ma päästan. Iga kuul tabab mind. Miks ma veel elan?!
Mul on gaas kopsudes! Miks ma ei karju oma viimase hingeõhuga,
see kriibib surnutest, kes mulle eelnesid! Ma näen üksnes surma.
Kui olen paigal, siis ta ründab mind, ajab higi mu naha alt välja.

DAAM
Võta endale õhtujagu aega, üks tund, ainult sinu enda jaoks
ja kui mitte enda, siis minu jaoks. Vaata mulle silma,
ei enamat. Unusta üheks hingetõmbeks, üheks minutiks,
üheks tunniks, üheks õhtuks see, kes oled!
Wallenberg, kas sa kuuled mind?

WALLENBERG
Pole aega! Mitte mõelda rahule, vaid sõja lõpule.
Pole aega. Mitte mõelda lõpule, lõpp on kõikjal,
vaid algusele, ja algus tähendab aega, ja minul ei ole aega.


SURMAMARSS

Kes elab, see töötab, kes ei taha töötada, see ei jää elama,
kes ei saa töötada, see ei saa elada, kellel pole väärtust,
see on väärtusetu, ja kes on väärtusetu, see kriipsutatakse maha.

Ja Jehoova käsi sai minu peale,
ja Jehoova viis mu välja vaimuga
ja pani mu peatama keset laia orgu,
ja see oli täis luid.
Ja ta saatis mu neist mööda ümberkaudu,
ja vaata, neid oli väga palju laia oru põhjas,
ja vaata, nad olid väga kuivanud.
Ja tema ütles mu vastu: “Inimesepoeg,
kas needsinatsed luud küll peaksid
jälle elavaks saama? ”
Ja ma ütlesin: “Issand, Issand, Issand…”

EICHMANN
Härra Wallenberg!
Ma tulen, et Teiega hüvasti jätta.
Minu töö on lõppenud.

WALLENBERG
Teie sõda on kaotatud.
Ma ütlesin Teile, et aeg töötab minu kasuks.

EICHMANN
Te mõtlete valesti. Ikka veel, härra Wallenberg!
Ma olin ühe aasta Budapestis, tulin kolmeteistkümne inimesega.
Deporteerisin kolmsada tuhat juuti.
Teie heaks töötas üksnes aeg,
minu heaks Wehrmacht, SS, Ungari ja juudid.
Jah, isegi juudid, seda ei nimeta ma kaotuseks.
Ja Teie? Kui palju päästsite Teie, Wallenberg?

WALLENBERG
Ma ei tea, mul polnud aega kokku lugeda.

EICHMANN
Polnud aega? Kas tõesti? Aitab naljast.
Te päästsite sada tuhat, ma lugesin kokku.
Teist ei saa midagi, Wallenberg. Parimal juhul
vaid kangelane, büst, ei midagi praktiliseks eluks.
Saja tuhande kangelane, seda on kerge öelda, see on ilus arv.
Ma ei taha seda ilu ometi rikkuda ühega. Teda on ju kõigest üks.
Ometi rikuks ta arvu ära. Arv võidab inimese.
(Laseb inimese maha)
Ma ei talu verd. Kas Teie talute? Kas talute?

WALLENBERG
Nüüd on algus, nüüd on aeg!
On vaja kortereid, tööd ja süüa.
Kõik, mis on lõhki käristatud, tuleb taas kokku siduda!
Kõik, mis on lahku kistud, omavahel ühendada!
Aeg on surnud maha matta ja elavad koju saata,
ning tühjaksjäänud laua taga, peab taas keegi istuma.
Kus palvetati, peab taas keegi palvetama,
ja kus tänu passile elati, peab jälle keegi elama,
kuna ta hingab ja on inimene,
mitte enam number ega nimekiri
ja kollane täht pole enam surmaotsus,
vaid kuulub taevale ja luuletustesse, ei rohkemat.
See on algus või alguse algus. Aga see on algus

I OHVITSER
Tulge kaasa. Sõbralikule vestlusele.
 


II VAATUS

NKVD

I OHVITSER
Meie juures teda pole.

II OHVITSER
Nii et ärge rohkem pärige!

I OHVITSER
Ja kui ta meie juures on, siis läheb tal hästi.

II OHVITSER
Nii et ärge rohkem pärige!

I OHVITSER
Ja kui tal halvasti läheb, siis on süüdi tema tervis, mitte elu trellide taga.
Ja kui tema seisund halveneb, siis oleme teinud kõik, et teda aidata.

II OHVITSER
Nii et ärge rohkem pärige!

I OHVITSER
Ja kui ta on surnud, siis me ei tea, kus ta haud on.
Ja kui ta leitakse, kuul peas, pole ükski meist päästikule vajutanud.

II OHVITSER
Nii et ärge rohkem pärige!

I OHVITSER
Ja kui keegi meist on tulistanud, siis oli tal selleks põhjus ja käsk.

II OHVITSER
Nii et ärge rohkem pärige!

I OHVITSER
Sest siis oli ta vaenlane, spioon ja nats,
siis ta pidigi surema või kõnnib ta teedel,
millest me midagi ei tea, teiste nimede all, mida meie ei tea.
Siis on ta meie juures ja me ei tea seda,
ja see teeb sama välja, kui et meie juures teda pole.

II OHVITSER
Nii et ärge rohkem pärige, sest meil teda pole.

KÜLALISED
Kus on Raoul Wallenberg?

I OHVITSER
Väga paljud…

II OHVITSER
…pole seal, kus nad olema peavad.

I OHVITSER
Väga paljud…

II OHVITSER
...otsivad ja ei leia neid, keda otsivad.

I OHVITSER
Väga paljusid...

II OHVITSER
...ei otsita, kuna pole enam kedagi, kes neid otsida võiks.
Terve tänava võiksite nendega sillutada, aga teie otsite üht kangelast.
Miks te ei otsi neid, kellel polnud aega kangelasteks saada,
ainult ohvriks, see käib kiiremini.
Abi vajavad need,
kes on vaid nimed nimede vahel.

KÜLALISED
Kus on Raoul Wallenberg?

I & II OHVITSER
Meie juures teda pole!
 

KONVERENTS II

I DIPLOMAAT
Miks Wallenberg?

II DIPLOMAAT
Ta oli hea kangelane.
Täitsamees, kes ajab asja nagu täitsamees või üldse mitte.
Täitsamehest kangelane! Kas kuuled, Wallenberg?
Kuid esialgu on võidetud vaid pool sõda.
Pooled lahingutest on praeguseks võidetud.
Alles pooltest vaenlastest jagu saadud.

III DIPLOMAAT
Pärast sõda on enne sõda.
Avame kangelaste hauad, neid läheb veel vaja.

I DIPLOMAAT
Sõda neelab toorainet, kangelased on tooraine ja toorainet on vähe.

II DIPLOMAAT
Ja Wallenberg on nimi, mida poolik sõda ei suuda täita.

I DIPLOMAAT
Härra Wallenberg, Te olete oma asja hästi ajanud.

WALLENBERG
Ma tegin, mida suutsin, nüüd on see möödas.
Mul oli palju plaanis, vähesega sain hakkama,
aga vähe on rohkem kui mitte midagi.

III DIPLOMAAT
Te eksite, härra Wallenberg.
Võib ju olla, et kes sada tuhat päästab,
saab kingiks elu, võib olla üks elab, kui sajad teda näevad.

WALLENBERG
Laske mul surra!

I, II & III DIPLOMAAT
Teil on uus missioon, härra Wallenberg!
 

GULAG I

KOOR
Mind saadetakse Kolõmasse, nad ütlesid seda mulle,
ma saan 25 aastat spionaaži eest, ma ei tea, miks!

WALLENBERG
Mitu korda ma pean teile veel ütlema, et ma pole spioon, see on absurdne!

KOOR
Rumeenlast pole enam näha, ta ei tulnud ülekuulamiselt tagasi.
Ka rootslast pole enam siin. Kuulsin, et ta olevat üle viidud.
Keegi itaallane istub kongis minu all.
Minult küsiti Wallenbergi kohta.

WALLENBERG
Ma tulin teie juurde vabatahtlikult, seda te ei saa eitada!

KOOR
Nad lasevad pärast otsuse teatamist maha.
Ainult mitte Vladimirisse, seda ei ela keegi üle!
Mina olen grusiinlane, ma tundsin Stalinit,
see oli mulle kohtuotsuseks.

WALLENBERG
Loomulikult olin ma kontaktis natsidega, see kuulus mu ülesannete hulka!

KOOR
Ma kirjutasin kirja. Eile kutsusid nad kindrali kohale.
Sa pead koputamissüsteemi ära õppima. Saabub pakke, ka kirju.
Kes kirja saab, see sureb. Kes kirju ei saa, see sureb.

WALLENBERG
Ma ei tea midagi separaatsetest läbirääkimistest, ma tahan inimesi päästa!

KOOR
Ma istun juba kümme aastat, see tõestab mu süüd.
See on juutide vastu! Ei, see on kirjanike vastu!

WALLENBERG
Ma tahan rääkida Rootsi suursaadikuga!

KOOR
Arstide vastu, kui nad on spioonid ja juudi verd
ja tundsid Trotskit. Mina ei tundnud kedagi.
Need on kõige hullemad. Kes kõike salgab, sellel on midagi varjata.
Kes midagi üles tunnistab, selle süü on tõestatud.

WALLENBERG
Ma ei kirjuta kuhugi alla!
Mul on diplomaatiline puutumatus!

KOOR
Kes on venelane, see on oma maa reetnud.
Kes on välismaalane, see on spioon.

WALLENBERG
Seda kõike ma ütlesin teile juba Debrecenis, eks ole?

KOOR
Surm on süü tõendus.
Rootslane on surnud!
Rootslane elab!
Rootslane on surnud!

WALLENBERG
Ma ei tee enam mingeid ülestunnistusi!

KOOR
Kes on rootslane?
Wallenberg.
Kes on Wallenberg?
 

GULAG II

I GULAGI VANG
Kas sa mäletad tammi, mille me ehitasime?
Sõnu, mida sa mulle ütlesid? Karistust lumes?
Öid vagunis ja surnuid, kes jaamas välja laaditi?

WALLENBERG
Ma ei mäleta.

I GULAGI VANG
Naeru, kui minu kohtunik laagrisse tuli?
Karistusalune nagu meiegi? Ja siis kohtuniku kohtunik?
Ja nii edasi ja kui kõik laagrisse on jõudnud,
mõistetakse meid vabadusse, tühjaks jäänud riigi esimesed
elanikud, ja sina jooksed Rootsimaale tagasi. Kas sa mäletad?

WALLENBERG
Ma ei mäleta.

II GULAGI VANG
Kui mina sündisin, olid sina laagris.
Kui ma kooli läksin, olid sina laagris.
Kui ma abiellusin, olid sina laagris.

WALLENBERG
Ma ei mäleta.

II GULAGI VANG
Kui mind kinni võeti, olid sina laagris.
Kui ma laagris ahastusse langesin, ilmusid sina kohale.
Elu enne laagrit ja elu laagris.
Kaks elu, sina andsid mulle lootust minu teisele elule.
Kuna sina jäid ellu, jään ellu ka mina.
Ja ma jäin ellu, tänu sinule, Wallenberg.
Kas sa mäletad?

WALLENBERG
Ma ei mäleta.

III GULAGI VANG
Ma ei tea, miks mind kinni võeti.
Ma ei tea, miks ma Kolõmasse sattusin.
Ma ei tea, miks minust laagris vana mees sai.

III GULAGI VANG
Ma nägin sind, Wallenberg ja kümme aastat lumes,
et üht Kristust näha, pole pikk aeg!
Mind võeti kinni, et saaksin sind näha!
Ma olin Kolõmas, et sind näha!
Minust sai vana mees, et saaksin sind näha,
meest, kellest kõneleb maailm, Wallenberg. Kas mäletad?

WALLENBERG
Ma ei mäleta.

I, II & III GULAGI VANG
Tuleta meelde, Wallenberg!

WALLENBERG
Ma ei mäleta. Minu peas on auk, sada tuhat nime
voolab sellest välja. Nimed, mida ma veel kunagi kuulnud pole,
ka minu enda nimi voolab minust läbi.

I, II & III GULAGI VANG
Sind on ainult üks,
meid, kes me sind nägime, on palju.
Tuleta meelde, Wallenberg!

WALLENBERG
Te ei saa mind sundida, ma ütlesin, mida öelda võisin, ma ei anna enam tunnistusi.
Te ei saa mind sundida, ma hakkan vastu, ma olen Raoul Wallenberg.
Ma mäletan!

(Saabub Wallenberg II)

WALLENBERG
Kes sina oled?

WALLENBERG II
Mina olen Raoul Wallenberg!

WALLENBERG
Ma olen surnud. Minu töö on tehtud.

WALLENBERG II
Mina otsustan, millal sinu töö tehtud on.

WALLENBERG
Lase mul minna.

WALLENBERG II
Sa sünnitasid minu. Sa ei kuulu enam iseendale.
Mina olen Raoul Wallenberg!

WALLENBERG
Ja kes olen mina?

WALLENBERG II
Sina oled visand. Mina olen pilt!
Sina oled kivi. Mina olen skulptuur!
Sina oled liivatera. Mina olen pärl!

WALLENBERG
Lase mul minna.

WALLENBERG II
Sina oled materjal, millest tehakse kangelasi.
Kas sa tahad olla ainult poolik kangelane? Iga tänavakoer
lakub su jalgu, kui kuuleb su nime. Sina oled Wallenberg.

WALLENBERG
Ma olen vaid üks paljudest, kellest sõda on üle käinud.
Ma olen vaid üks miljoneist. Lase mul minna!

WALLENBERG II
Ma kaabin su välja mullast!
Ma kaevan su kolba välja mudast!
Ma tõmban välja ora su rinnast.
Ma kraabin Lubjanka ahjust kokku su tuha!
Vali endale surm, mina röövin selle sult ära!
Vali endale tuhat surma, mida sajand on leiutanud!
Ükski ei too sulle rahu. Mina olen su kangelane,
sa ei saa minust enam lahti.
Ma imen sinust välja su elu,
ma varastan ära su mälestused,
sinu näo ja sa ei tunne end enam ära
ja sinust ei jää midagi järele!

EICHMANN
Ma tahtsin palju, saavutasin vähe.
Aga vähe on rohkem kui mitte midagi.
Nüüd olen ma tuhk, ei enamat kui tuhk.

WALLENBERG
Päästke mind!

EICHMANN
Päästa!?
Teie olete päästja, mitte mina.
Aitab naljast!

EICHMANN
Oli see alles elu, kui oli veel ainult üks surm,
milles võis leida rahu. Eks ole, juudikoer?
Võis segamatult tööd teha. Ja nüüd, juudikoer?
Aga oma saatusest pole pääsu.

WALLENBERG
Kuhu Te lähete?

EICHMANN
Olen teel Jeruusalemma.
Mind puuakse kogu maailma silme ees üles.
Puhas lõpp, raamatud suletakse. Mina olen raamatupidaja.
Teie peate olema kangelane, kuna olete halb raamatupidaja,
isegi kui Te seda ei taha. Ma olen Teis pettunud, juudikoer!
Aga otsetee polnud kunagi Teie jaoks.
Te tegite endale oma elu alati raskeks. Mina sigitasin
ilmale poja, kui Teie olite tolm ühes Moskva lombis.
Mul oli naisi, hea söök, kui Teil polnud isegi aega
üheks söögikorraks, kuigi aeg oli Teie poolt ja oli Teile truu.
Ta on truult Teie kõrval, see aeg, et Te igavesti Gulagis
ringi rändaksite ja mina sundisin Teid selleks.
See on minu kättemaks. Te olete minu kangelane. Oleks ma Teid
Budapestis maha lasknud, oleksite oma rahu saanud.
Aga ilma minuta oleksite jäänud väikepoodnikuks
ja Te poleks praegu kangelane, kes surra ei tohi.
Käsk saab võitu inimlikkusest. Statistika saab võitu julgusest.
Banaalsus saab võitu erandeist ja kurjus on vaid headus valel ajal.
Aitab naljast, mul pole enam aega! Ma pean oma loo lõpetama.
 

WALLENBERGI TSIRKUS

WALLENBERG II
Juba lapsena üliandekas. Ilus ja vaimurikas!
Naiste sõber, meeste iidol.
Naeratava näoga põrgu lõugade vahel.
Vabaduse leegid! Päästeingel!
Juba lapsena üliandekas.

JACOB WALLENBERG
Kui minult küsitakse, miks me natsidele terast tarnisime,
ütlen: Raoul Wallenberg, minu vennapoeg Siberi jääväljadel.

WALLENBERG II
Minu isa on surnud, taevas.

KINDRAL
Me ei pommitanud Auschwitzi suunduvat raudteed.
Aga meil on Wallenberg.

WALLENBERG II
Mul õnnestus kõik

SÕDUR
Ma tulen Kansasest. Maa on suur ja päikeseline.
Miks ma peaksin lumes surema?
Minu kangelased on ameeriklased.

JACOB WALLENBERG
Kui minult küsitakse, miks me kaitsesime saksa firmasid,
ütlen: Raoul Wallenberg, minu vennapoeg Siberi jääväljadel!

WALLENBERG II
Ilus ja vaimurikas!

KINDRAL
Me ei pommitanud krematooriume,
aga meil on Wallenberg.

WALLENBERG II
Maailm oli mu ees avatud.

SÕDUR
Aga kui ma Wallenbergist kuulsin, rootslasest,
kenast nagu Elvis, punaste küüniste vahel.

WALLENBERG II
Hiilgavad väljavaated, millest ma ka kinni haarasin.

KINDRAL
Me saatsime tagasi juutidega täidetud laevu.
Aga meil on Wallenberg.

WALLENBERG II
Aidata inimesi.

SÕDUR
Ma tean, kuidas tulistatakse. Te võite minuga arvestada.

WALLENBERG II
Üks sõna, mida mina ütlesin, peletas kurja eemale.

SÕDUR
Me heidame nad merre. Wallenbergi ja Jumala maa nimel.

WALLENBERG II
Ei jälgegi kahtlusest.

GULAGI VANG
Ma ütlen teile, mida ma Wallenbergist tean...
Andke mulle veidi teed.

WALLENBERG 2
Naeratava näoga põrgu lõugade vahel.

GULAGI VANG
Ma kohtasin üht rootslast. Ma vajan uusi riideid.
Seisin keldriakna juures ja nägin rootslase kingi tulemas ja minemas.

WALLENBERG II
Ma kandsin oma saatust raudse tahtega.
Eeskuju inimestele.

GULAGI VANG
Ta jutustas mulle Budapestist.
Minu vahendid on ammendatud.

WALLENBERG II
Vabaduse leek. Kurjuse rusudest karjusin ma vabasse maailma.

GULAGI VANG
Tema nimi oli Wallenberg. Ma otsin tööd.

WALLENBERG II
Mina olen nägu.

GULAGI VANG
Tal läheb hästi. Mul pole korterit.
…ja ma armastasin alati rootslase kingi. Alati.

WALLENBERG II
Masinate vahel.

GULAGI VANG
Aidake teda! Aidake mind,
kes ma aitan abistajat aidata.

KINDRAL
Meil teda pole või on? Meil teda pole.
Aga kui ta meil on, miks me sellest midagi ei tea?
Kõik näevad teda, ainult meie mitte, kuigi näeme kõike.
Isegi seda, mida keegi teine ei näe.
Meie näeme töölisklassi võitu! Me teame, mis on vandenõu!
Me tunneme spioone! Aga temast vaatame mööda,
tema on meil ja meie ei teagi. Ta on ju meil,
kuigi teda pole meil kunagi olnud.

HÄÄL
Ameerika Ühendriikide president.

REAGAN
Täna kirjutan ma alla sellele dokumendile, millega Raoul Wallenberg
nimetatakse Ameerika Ühendriikide aukodanikuks.
See, mida ta tegi, mida saavutas, omab Piibli mastaapi.
Kartmatu ohtude ees, pühendus ta teistele nende kannatustes.
Kus iganes ta täna ka on, tema inimlikkus põleb tõrvikuna.
Natsid olid läinud ja sovjetid tulnud liitlastena,
kuid ometi on tõendeid selle kohta, et ta on ikka veel
Nõukogude sõjavangis.

JACOB WALLENBERG
Aga Wallenberg. Kui ütlen Wallenberg.
Aga meil on Wallenberg.

SÕDUR
Aga meil on Wallenberg.

GULAGI VANG
Saladus Wallenberg.

KINDRAL
Varjus õilishing. Sada tuhat juuti on päästetud.

JACOB WALLENBERG
Kangelaslikkuse ja piinade vahel.

SÕDUR
Päästeingel.

GULAGI VANG
Teadmata kadunud kangelane.

KINDRAL
Mees raudses võrgus.

HÄÄL
Ma määrin teie sõrmed ära.
Te võite mind kokku kraapida põldudelt,
puude lehtedelt ja viilkatuste harjadelt,
te ei leia minust niigi palju, et sõdur hakkaks köhima,
kui ma talle kurku lendan ja kes saab hingata,
mõeldes tuhale, mis lendab kopsudesse.

Imagetext  Imagetext

See also: Opera Wallenberg

Imagetext

InEnglish

ImagetextERKKI-SVEN TÜÜR
WALLENBERG

LIBRETTO
IN ENGLISH

The only opera by Erkki-Sven Tüür on DVD. Performed by Estonian National Opera. “Mister Wallenberg, my family will fit in your coat pocket. My family will make your fingers dirty, you can scrape them together from Polish fields, tree leaves and the ridges of gable roofs, there is not even so much left of them that you could paint a cross with ashes on your forehead, not even so much that a soldier would start coughing when they fly into his throat.”

Libretto by Lutz Hübner
Translation into English by Kesklinna Tõlkekeskus

Imagetext  Imagetext

ACT I

1st SURVIVOR
Do we have to honour Wallenberg?

2nd SURVIVOR
Who else if not him?

CHORUS
What did he do? Why did he do it? For whom did he do it?

3rd SURVIVOR
What is important:
that one helps and lives or why does one help?

CHORUS
What did he do?

2nd SURVIVOR
But do we honour the living or the dead?

CHORUS
Why did he do it?

3rd SURVIVOR
What does a tree care that is growing in his honour?
What does the street care that is bearing his name?

CHORUS
If he is dead, where is his grave?
If he is alive, where is he kept in prison?

1st SURVIVOR
If he is the Righteous among the nations,
is it important then whether he is alive or dead?

2nd SURVIVOR
Is this an example for the future?
Is memory more important than a man,
who lives and dies in the shadow of that memory?

3rd SURVIVOR
The example matters, not the man.

CHORUS
But where is Wallenberg?


1st CONFERENCE

1st GUEST
Where is Raoul Wallenberg?

2nd GUEST
Why are we waiting for him?

3rd GUEST
Why was he invited here?

1st DIPLOMAT
We have something in store for him.
He is our on our side.

1st GUEST
Why him?

1st DIPLOMAT
He is Wallenberg.

2nd GUEST
No less than Wallenberg
but no more either.

3rd GUEST
Name is one thing, the man another.

1st GUEST
He studied law for a while.

2nd GUEST
But this did not suit him.

1st GUEST
He studied architecture for a while.

2nd GUEST
But this did not suit him.

1st GUEST
He studied banking for a while.

2nd GUEST
But this did not suit him.

1st GUEST
He is trading with delicatessen a little.

2nd GUEST
But this does not suit him.

3rd GUEST
An incomplete man.

1st DIPLOMAT
But he is Wallenberg.

3rd GUEST
No name is bigger than its bearer.

1st DIPLOMAT
He is Wallenberg.
The name that can open doors.

2nd DIPLOMAT
Wallenberg is the bank
that makes half-deals,
half with Germans, half with us.

3rd DIPLOMAT
Wallenberg is a name that
a half-man does not fill,
there is room for a lot more
that must remain unknown for a half-man.

1st DIPLOMAT
And Wallenberg is the name
that has a good sound,
where whole offers are made
in incomplete sentences.

(Wallenberg enters)

1st DIPLOMAT
Mister Wallenberg, we have a task for you.

2nd DIPLOMAT
The task commissioned by the President of America
and the Refugee Assistance.

3rd DIPLOMAT
Go to Budapest and try
to save as many people as possible!

WALLENBERG
Give me time to think.

1st GUEST
Wallenberg, why should you do it?

2nd GUEST
It is terrible what is done to the Jews.

3rd GUEST
But is it our problem?

A LADY
What is it to you, when
the President discovers in his heart compassion for the Jews,
because the elections are coming.
What is it to you, when
the Secret Service wants to make you
the puppet of its diplomacy.
What business is war to you?
What does the politics concern you?

WALLENBERG
I need time to think.

1st DIPLOMAT
Have you decided, Wallenberg?

WALLENBERG
I am alone.

3rd DIPLOMAT
We will give you money.

WALLENBERG
But I am alone.

1st DIPLOMAT
Do you want to die,
being just an importer of goose liver?

WALLENBERG
But I am alone.

3rd DIPLOMAT
Diplomatic immunity!

WALLENBERG
But I am alone.

2nd DIPLOMAT
Do you want to die,
being just a pendant to a big name?

3rd DIPLOMAT
Addresses, information!

1st DIPLOMAT
Do you want to die,
being a man who has not succeeded at anything?

3rd DIPLOMAT
We will show you your friends and your enemies.

2nd DIPLOMAT
Don’t you want to be useful just for once to be useful?

WALLENBERG
Yes!

WALLENBERG
I thought about it for five minutes.
During these five minutes
five people were killed,
shot, poisoned with gas, slain.
Each minute that it takes me to go,
costs one human life.


TRAIN STATION I

WALLENBERG
What are you doing?

OFFICER
Don’t you have eyes, or what?
Work is done here, we are doing our duty.
Thousand every day, this is no child’s play.
Thousand Jews, every day, every hour
one train that arrives, one train that leaves.
Thousand lists, thousand timetables.
Last week, there were a hundred of them, this week a thousand,
two thousand next week, every day,
twenty-four hours in a row,
every minute, when someone
asks stupid questions,
is a minute lost.

WALLENBERG
Why these people?

OFFICER
Thousands ask every day, who asks is a Jew!
Who bears a number that is between one and thousand, is a Jew!
Who enters these carriages, is a Jew!
Who is shot because I don’t have time to answer, is a Jew!
Do you want to go into the carriage or keep on asking?

WALLENBERG
I am a Swede.

OFFICER
I can make a Jew also out of a Swede.
Get going!

WALLENBERG
I have immunity.

OFFICER
I can prove the opposite.
Get going!

WALLENBERG
I am a diplomat.

OFFICER
Get going!

WALLENBERG
Wait, this man is a Swede, therefore he is untouchable.

OFFICER
Is this certain?

WALLENBERG
Yes!

OFFICER
Proof!

OFFICER
Passport wins a weapon,
but a weapon wins a man.
(Kills the man)

OFFICER
Did you see? A Jew!


PLAN I

Passport wins a weapon,
a weapon wins a man.
What can blood do against ink?
What can a bullet do against a stamp?
My heart is beating in my hand...
A yellow paper with a Swedish crown on it.
Tomorrow morning, thousands of Jews
will be driven out of their houses.
Tomorrow afternoon thousands of Swedes
will come back to the houses.


TRAIN STATION II

OFFICER
You – over here and you – over there!
Move yourself, we don’t have time forever!

OFFICER
You again!
Leave the platform at once!

WALLENBERG
Stop, this man over there has a passport
and this one as well,
you there, you also have a passport, right?
And you, you also have a passport, right?
Come here to the truck, but quickly!

OFFICER
What are you doing?

WALLENBERG
Don’t you have eyes?
Work is done here, I do my duty.
Hundred Swedes, every day,
twenty-four hours in a row,
and every minute, when someone
asks stupid questions,
is a minute lost.
Get going!

OFFICER
These are Jews.
You have no right for that!

WALLENBERG
The one who has this passport is a Swede.
I decide who is a Swede.
The one who is a Swede, is untouchable.
Do I have to complain about you?
Do you want to go back to the front?
Do your work, let me do mine
and now step aside before I report where needed.
I have no time, do you understand?
Passport wins a man, passport wins a weapon.
Shoot them! Will you take responsibility for that?
The next bullet will hit you, because you
took a Swede for a Jew!
I said, get going!


THE RESCUED ONES

WALLENBERG
Go home, you are under my protection.

1st ONE
The paper may get lost. It falls into the gutter.

2nd ONE
It may be torn to pieces, stolen.

3rd ONE
The paper is patient, too patient.

WALLENBERG
You are under Swedish protection.

2nd ONE
This is only paper, we have trusted
stronger things than paper.

WALLENBERG
But this paper means life.

1st ONE
Paper does not relieve hunger, does not give warmth.
Life is more than not being dead.

WOMAN
I thank you for this paper.
I thank you for saving my youngest son.

WALLENBERG
Where are the rest of your children?

(The woman leaves crying)

PLAN II

WALLENBERG
What I do is not enough!
Not being in the carriage is not enough!
Not going to the gas chamber is not enough!
Not being shot is not enough,
not being a slaughter animal and
a number between one and a thousand, is not enough!
To be a human being without a bed, without a roof over the head,
without food and drink – this is not enough!
Passport, a patch of free land,
only a size of a palm is not enough.
A house is not enough, but it would be a start.
Other people, who within the minutes of their lives,
tear others away from the jaws of death, even this is not enough.
But it would be a start.
Merely fighting against the boots of death
is not enough.
To feel his face or hand,
with which he is strangling,
this is not enough,
but it would be a start.


EICHMANN I

COLLABORATORS
Who are you waiting for, Wallenberg?
For whom are you sacrificing your time?
Who is so important for you,
that you are waiting for him for a whole hour?
Is this the Stone Guest, Mr Wallenberg?

WALLENBERG
I invited him to find out
what he is made of.

EICHMANN
Sorry I’m late, my gentlemen,
but the work has no end.
Nobody knows it better than the host,
Mr Wallenberg, a Jewish dog.
So, where is he, this master of Jewish houses,
this printing press, Jewish dog, this master of autumn.
All Budapest is rustling with yellow leaves,
one can hardly see the yellow stars
with all this falling of Swedish leaves
on our town, but enough of jokes.
No long spoons, Mr Wallenberg?
You are eating with the Devil, don’t you know that?
Enough of jokes, let’s get down to business!
Don’t your friends want to save a few more Jews
until there are a few in Budapest?

WALLENBERG
Don’t your escort want to try to stop them in doing so?

EICHMANN
You did not invite me over, because nobody else will eat with you,
you have friends in town, more with every day,
you have friends elsewhere as well, you do not eat with me
because you love Germans, you are here not
because you love Hungarians and you do not save
the Jews either because you love them, let’s get down to business.
What do you want? What is your task?

WALLENBERG
I am here to save people.
This is my task, nothing else.

EICHMANN
I don’t believe that, Wallenberg.

WALLENBERG
Why are you here, Mr Eichmann?

EICHMANN
I transport people from here to there,
nothing else, this is my task.

WALLENBERG
Here are people who are living,
because I am here and the longer I am here,
the more of them there will be.

EICHMANN
The longer I am here, the less
people there will be, whom you can save.
This is mathematics, you have to know this.
You are the banker, you are the tradesman,
besides a bad one. You haven’t understood anything.
You love people, this is your flaw.
I respect the Jews, I was in Palestine,
I know their language, their history,
I read theis books.
But my task is the calculations,
timetables, quotas, units,
administration, lists and evacuation.
I don’t deal with small change.
Enough of jokes.
There is only one you, not more,
this is not enough.

WALLENBERG
You are wrong, I am not alone.
I have one ally – the Time.
It works for me, not for you.

EICHMANN
This is not the first burning city that I see.
It is not my task to put it out.
Enough of jokes,
what is your offer?

WALLENBERG
Stop. You have lost.

EICHMANN
The city is burning and you are printing passports.
Passport is a piece of paper, isn’t it?
It may burn.
Safe house is just a house with a Swedish flag, isn’t it?
It may burn down.
It burns as easily as a human being.

DIPLOMATS
Do you know that, Wallenberg?
Do you know what the exchange rate is for Jews?

EICHMANN
Immunity is just an agreement, isn’t it?
Sweden is just a country far in the North, right?
An agreement may be forgotten, right?
North is far from Hungary, right?

DIPLOMATS
Ten thousand Jews for one truck?
Two million Jews for peace?
Don’t you know that a human being is merchandise?

EICHMANN
Diplomat may be run over by car,
he may fall off the bridge,
or become a victim of crime, right?
We are living during a time when things happen.
Every minute brings along new questions.
Have you already thought about these questions?

DIPLOMATS
What is a human being worth, if five thousand go to the gas chamber every day?
What is a safety pass worth, if one thousand are issued every day?
What is a safety pass worth, if everyone has it?
Don’t you know the rules of inflation?

EICHMANN
Have you already thought about it,
that I can change my opinion?

DIPLOMATS
Do you know, what the exchange rate is?
Do you know, who determines it?

EICHMANN
Or that others change their opinion?

DIPLOMATS
Do you know what is your value on the stock exchange of war?

EICHMANN
Have you already thought about it,
why you are allowed to do what you are doing?

DIPLOMATS
Do you know why you are still living?

EICHMANN
Don’t you know it?
Don’t you know?
(Eichmann leaves)

WALLENBERG
Every question is a minute lost.
Every minute kills.
Every minute takes us closer to the end of killing.
Also when the time
is on my side. I have no time!


TRAIN STATION III

WALLENBERG
A secretary.
An accountant.
A telephone operator.
A driver.
A janitor.

WOMAN
Mr Wallenberg?

WALLENBERG
A messenger.

WOMAN
Mr Wallenberg?

WALLENBERG
Do you need work?
Do you want to telephone?
Do you want to be an accountant?
Do you want to distribute food?
Do you want to make lists?

WOMAN
Mr Wallenberg, I want to give you back my safety pass.
I want to go back to my family.

WALLENBERG
Bring them here, I have something for all of them.
Bring them here, I will give them safety passes.

WOMAN
Mr Wallenberg, my family
will fit in your coat pocket.
My family will make your fingers dirty,
you can scrape them together from Polish fields,
tree leaves and the ridges of gable roofs,
there is not even so much left of them
that you could paint an ashen cross on your forehead,
not even so much that a soldier would start coughing
when they fly into his throat.
They waited for me at home,
but I was not the knocker.
Why should I need a life as a present
How can I live with the guilt,
that one day I went out,
when others stayed inside?
Do I have to build my life upon a walk
and the luck of meeting you?
Tell me how must I overcome
the guilt of being alive?
(The woman steps into the carriage)


PLAN III

I die in everyone, whom I cannot save.
I die in everyone, whom I save.
Each bullet hits me.
Why am I still living?!
I have gas in my lungs!
Why am I not shouting with my last breath,
it is hoarse from the dead, who preceded me!
I see only death,
when I keep still, it attacks me,
drives out the sweat from under my skin.

LADY
Take a free evening,
one hour, just for yourself.
And if not four yourself, then for me.
Look into my eyes, nothing more.
Forget who you are,
for one breath, for one minute,
one hour, an evening.
Wallenberg do you hear me?

WALLENBERG
There’s no time!
Not to think of peace,
but of the end of the war.
There’s no time.
Not to think of the end,
the end is everywhere,
think of the beginning,
and beginning means time,
and I don’t have time.

DEATH MARCH

He who lives, he works, he who doesn’t want to work, will not live,
he who cannot work, he cannot live, he who has no value,
is of no value, and he who is of no value,
will be crossed out.

The hand of the Lord was on me,
and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord
and placed me in the midst of the valley,
and it was full of bones.
He made me walk all around among them.
I realized there were a great many bones in the valley
and they were very dry.
He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, Lord, Lord…”

EICHMANN
Mr Wallenberg!
I am coming to bid you goodbye.
My work has come to an end.

WALLENBERG
Your war is lost.
I told you that the time is working in my favour.

EICHMANN
You still think wrong, Mr Wallenberg.
I spent a year in Budapest, I came with thirteen people.
I deported three hundred thousand Jews.
Only time was working in your favour,
Wehrmacht, SS, Hungary and the Jews in my favour.
Yes, even the Jews, I do not call this a defeat.
And you? How many did you save, Wallenberg?

WALLENBERG
I don’t know, I had no time to count.

EICHMANN
No time? Really? Enough of jokes!
You saved a hundred thousand, I counted.
Nothing will become of you, Wallenberg, at best
only a hero, a bust sculpture, nothing for practical life.
A hero for one hundred thousand, it is easy to say, it is a beautiful number.
By no means do I want to spoil it with one.
There is only one of him. Still, he would spoil the number,
Number wins the man.
(Shoots the man)

I cannot stand blood.
Can you? Can you?

WALLENBERG
Now is the beginning,
now is the time!

WALLENBERG
Apartments are needed,
work, food.
Everything that has been torn up,
has to be bound together again!
Everything that has been torn open,
has to be joined together!
It is time to bury the dead
and send the living home,
and behind an empty table,
someone must sit again!
There where prayers were said,
someone must pray again, and where people lived thanks to passport,
someone must live again, as he is breathing and is a man,
not a number or a list any more,
and the yellow star is not a death sentence any more,
but belongs to heaven and poems, nothing more.
This is a beginning or the start of a beginning.
But it is a start.

1st OFFICER
Come along. To a friendly chat.

ACT II

NKVD

1st OFFICER
He’s not here with us.

2nd OFFICER
So don’t ask any more!

1st OFFICER
And, if he is with us, then he is doing well.

2nd OFFICER
So don’t ask any more.

1st OFFICER
And, if he is not doing well,
then his health is to blame,
not life behind the bars.
And, if his condition becomes worse,
then we have done everything
to help him.

2nd OFFICER
So don’t ask any more!

1st OFFICER
And, if he is dead,
then we don’t know where his grave is.
And, if he is found, a bullet in his head,
none of us has pulled the trigger.

2nd OFFICER
So don’t ask any more!

1st OFFICER
And, if someone of us has pulled the trigger,
he had a reason and an order to do that.

2nd OFFICER
So don’t ask any more!

1st OFFICER
Because then he was an enemy, a spy and a Nazi,
then he had to die, or he is walking the roads,
of which we know nothing,
under other names, that we know not of.
Then he is with us and we don’t know it,
and this is the same thing
as if he’s not here with us.

2nd OFFICER
So don’t ask any more, because he’s not here with us.

GUESTS
Where is Wallenberg?

1st OFFICER
Very many...

2nd OFFICER
... are not there, where they should be.

1st OFFICER
Very many...

2nd OFFICER
... are looking for and
not finding the ones they are looking for.

1st OFFICER
Very many...

2nd OFFICER
... are not looked for, because there is no one left to look for them.
You could pave a whole street with them,
but you are looking for one hero.
Why don’t you look for them,
who did not have time to become heroes,
but victims – this happens easier.
Help is needed by those who are just names between the names.

GUESTS
Where is Raoul Wallenberg?

1st & 2nd OFFICER
We don’t have him!


CONFERENCE II

1st DIPLOMAT
Why Wallenberg?

2nd DIPLOMAT
He was a good hero.
A good sport, who does business like a good sport,
or not at all.
A hero who is a good sport!
Do you hear, Wallenberg?
But so far, only half a war has been won.
Half of the battles have been won by now.
Only half of the enemies have been defeated.

3rd DIPLOMAT
After the war is before the war.
We open the heroes’ graves,
they are still needed.

1st DIPLOMAT
War devours raw materials,
heroes are a raw material,
and there is not much raw materials.

2nd DIPLOMAT
And Wallenberg is a name
that cannot be filled by a half-war.

1st DIPLOMAT
Mr Wallenberg, you have done your business well.

WALLENBERG
I did what I could, now it is over.
I had planned to do a lot, I managed to do little,
but little is more than nothing.

3rd DIPLOMAT
You are mistaken, Mr Wallenberg.
It may be that the one who saves one hundred people,
will get a life as a present,
maybe one is living, when hundreds see him.

WALLENBERG
Let me die!

1st, 2nd & 3rd DIPLOMAT
You’ve got a new mission, Mr Wallenberg!


GULAG I

CHORUS
I will be sent to Kolyma, they told me that,
I will get 25 years for espionage, I don’t know why!

WALLENBERG
How many times do I have to tell you
that I’m not a spy, this is absurd!

CHORUS
We haven’t seen the Romanian,
he did not come back from the interrogation.
The Swede is no longer here either.
I heard he was transferred.
An Italian is sitting in the cell below me.
I was asked about Wallenberg.

WALLENBERG
I came here on my own accord, you can’t deny it!

CHORUS
They shoot you after the judgement is pronounced.
Only not to Vladimir, nobody will survive that!
I am Georgian, I knew Stalin, this was my judgement.

WALLENBERG
Of course I was in contact with the Nazis, this was part of my tasks!

CHORUS
I wrote a letter.
Yesterday they called a general.
You have to learn the system of knocking.
Parcels will arrive, letters too.
The one who gets a letter, dies.
The one who doesn’t get letters, dies.

WALLENBERG
I don’t know anything about separate negotiations, I want to save people!

CHORUS
I have already been behind the bars for ten years,
this proves my guilt.
This is against the Jews.
No, it’s against the writers.

WALLENBERG
I want to talk with the Swedish Ambassador!

CHORUS
Against the doctors, if they are spies and Jewish
and knew Trotski.
I knew no one. These are the worst.
The one who denies everything, has something to hide.
The one who confesses something, is proven guilty.

WALLENBERG
I will not sign anything!
I am a Swede, I have diplomatic immunity!

CHORUS
The one who is Russian, has betrayed his country.
The one who is a foreigner, is a spy.

WALLENBERG
I told you all this already in Debrecen, didn’t I?

CHORUS
Death is the proof of guilt.
The Swede is dead!
The Swede is alive!

WALLENBERG
I will not make any more confessions!

CHORUS
Who is the Swede?
Wallenberg.
Who is Wallenberg?


GULAG II

1st GULAG PRISONER
Do you remember the dam that we built?
The words you spoke to me?
Punishment in the snow?
Nights in the carriage and the dead,
who were loaded out at the station?

WALLENBERG
I don’t remember.

1st GULAG PRISONER
The laughter, when my judge came to the camp?
A convict just like us?
And then the judge’s judge?
And so on and when all have arrived to the camp
we will be sentenced to freedom,
the first inhabitants of the country that has become deserted
and you are running back to Sweden.
Do you remember?

WALLENBERG
I don’t remember.

2nd GULAG PRISONER
When I was born, you were at the camp.
When I went to school, you were at the camp.
When I got married, you were at the camp.

GULAG PRISONER
When I fell into despair in the camp, you turned up.
Life before the camp and life at the camp.

2nd GULAG PRISONER
Two lives, you gave me hope for my second life.
Because you survived, I will survive as well.
And I did survive, thanks to you Wallenberg.
Do you remember?

WALLENBERG
I don’t remember.

3rd GULAG PRISONER
I don’t know, why I was imprisoned.
I don’t know, why I happen to be in Kolyma.
I don’t know, why I became an old man at the camp.

3rd GULAG PRISONER
I saw you, Wallenberg, and ten years in the snow,
to see one Christ, is not a long time!
I was imprisoned, so I could see you!

WALLENBERG
I don’t remember.

3rd GULAG PRISONER
I became an old man, so I could see you!
A man, of whom the world is talking, Wallenberg.
Do you remember?

WALLENBERG
I don’t remember.

1st, 2nd & 3rd GULAG PRISONERS
Recall, Wallenberg!

WALLENBERG
I don’t remember.
There is a hole in my head,
a hundred thousand names are flowing out if it.
Names, that I have never heard before,
even my own name is flowing through me.

GULAG PRISONERS
There is only one you,
we are many, who saw you.
Recall, Wallenberg!

WALLENBERG
You cannot force me, I said what I could say, I will not give testimonies any more.
You cannot force me, I will defy,
I am Raoul Wallenberg!
I remember!

(Wallenberg II arrives)

WALLENBERG
Who are you?

WALLENBERG II
I am Raoul Wallenberg!

WALLENBERG
I am dead.
My work is done.

WALLENBERG II
I will decide, when your work is done.

WALLENBERG
Let me go.

WALLENBERG II
You gave birth to me.
You no longer belong to yourself.
I am Raoul Wallenberg!

WALLENBERG
And who am I?

WALLENBERG II
You are a sketch. I am the picture!
You are a stone. I am a sculptor!
You are a grain of sand. I am a pearl!

WALLENBERG
Let me go.

WALLENBERG II
You are the material, from which heroes are made.
Do you want to be just half a hero?
Every stray dog will lick your feet,
when it hears your name.
You are Wallenberg.

WALLENBERG
I am just one of many over whom the war has swept.
I am one out of millions.
Let me go!

WALLENBERG II
I will scrape you out from earth!
I will dig out your skull from mud!
I will pull out the spike from your chest!
I will scrape together your ashes from the Lubyanka furnace!
Choose yourself a death, I will rob you of it!
Choose yourself a thousand deaths that the century has invented!
None will bring you peace.
I am your hero, you can no longer get rid of me.
I will suck the life out of you,
I will steal your memories, your face,
and you will not recognize yourself
and nothing will be left of you!

EICHMANN
I wanted a lot, achieved a little.
But little is more than nothing.
Now I am ashes, nothing more.

WALLENBERG
Save me!

EICHMANN
Save you?!
You are the saviour, not me.
Enough of jokes!

EICHMANN
What a life it was,
when there was only one death
in which peace could be found.
Isn’t it, Jewish dog?
One could work undisturbed.
And now, Jewish dog?
But there is no escape from one’s fate.

WALLENBERG
Where are you going?

EICHMANN
I’m on my way to Jerusalem.
I will be hanged in front of the whole world.
Clean ending, books will be closed.
I am the accountant.
You have to be a hero,
because you are a bad bookkeeper, even if you don’t want this.
I am disappointed in you, Jewish dog!
But the shortcuts were never meant for you.
You always made your life complicated for yourself.
I conceived a son, when you were dust in one Moscow puddle.
I had women, good food, when you didn’t have time even for one meal,
although the time was on your side and faithful to you.
It is faithfully by your side, the time,
so that you would wander around in Gulag forever
and I forced you to it.
This is my revenge.
You are my hero.
If I had shot you in Budapest, you would have had your peace.
But without me you would have remained a shopkeeper
and you wouldn’t be a hero now, who must not die.
Order wins humanness.
Statistics win courage.
Banality wins exceptions and evil is just goodness at the wrong time.
Enough of jokes, I have no more time!
I have to finish my story.


WALLENBERG CIRCUS

WALLENBERG II
Extremely talented already as a child.
Handsome and ingenious!
Women’s friend, men’s idol.
With a laughing face between the jaws of hell.
Flames of freedom! Angel of salvation!
Extremely talented already as a child.

JACOB WALLENBERG
When I am asked, why did we supply the Nazis with steel,
I say: Raoul Wallenberg, my nephew on Siberian ice fields!

GULAG PRISONER
My father is dead, in heaven.

GENERAL
We did not bomb the railway going to Auschwitz.
But we’ve got Wallenberg.

WALLENBERG II
I succeeded at everything.

SOLDIER
I come from Kansas.
The land is vast and sunny.
Why should I die in the snow?
My heroes are Americans!

JACOB WALLENBERG
When I am asked, why we protected German companies,
I say: Raoul Wallenberg, my nephew on Siberian ice fields!

WALLENBERG II
Handsome and ingenious!

GENERAL
We did not bomb the crematoriums,
but we’ve got Wallenberg.

WALLENBERG II
The world was open before me.

SOLDIER
But when I heard of Wallenberg,
of the Swede, handsome like Elvis,
between red claws...

WALLENBERG II
Splendid prospects that I also seized.

GENERAL
We sent back ships filled with Jews.
But we’ve got Wallenberg.

WALLENBERG II
To help people.

SOLDIER
I know how shooting is done.
You can count on me.

WALLENBERG II
One word said by me, banished the evil.

SOLDIER
We throw them into the sea.
In the name of Wallenberg and God’s Land.

WALLENBERG 2
Not a trace of doubt.

GULAG PRISONER
I will tell you what I know of Wallenberg.
Give me some tea!

WALLENBERG II
With a laughing face between the jaws of hell.

GULAG PRISONER
I met one Swede.
I need new clothes.

SURVIVOR
I stood at the cellar window
and saw the Swede’s shoes going and coming.

WALLENBERG II
I bore my fate with an iron will.
An example to people.

GULAG PRISONER
He told me about Budapest.
My resources are exhausted.

WALLENBERG II
Flame of freedom.
From the ruins of evil I shouted into the free world.

GULAG PRISONER
His name was Wallenberg.
I am looking for a job.

WALLENBERG II
I am the face.

GULAG PRISONER
He’s doing well.
I don’t have a flat.

2nd SURVIVOR
... and I always loved the Swede’s shoes. Always.

WALLENBERG II
Between the machines.

GULAG PRISONER
Help him.
Help me, who is helping to help the helper.

RUSSIAN OFFICER
We haven’t got him, have we?
We haven’t got him.

ALL
The President is coming!

RUSSIAN OFFICER
But if we have got him, why don’t we know anything about it?
Everybody sees him, only we don’t,
although we see everything. Even things that nobody else sees.
We see the victory of the working class!
We know what conspiracy is!
We know the spies!
But we are looking past him,
we have got him and we don’t even know.
We have got him after all, although we have never got him.

WALLENBERG II
President of the United States of America.

REAGAN
Today I will sign this document,
with which Raoul Wallenberg is awarded the honorary citizenship
of the United States of America.
What he did, what he achieved, acquires the dimensions of the Bible.
Fearless in front of dangers, he dedicated himself to others in their suffering.
Wherever he is today, his humanness burns as a torch.
Nazis had gone and the Soviets came as allies,
nevertheless there is proof that he is still kept as the Soviet war prisoner.

JACOB WALLENBERG
But Wallenberg.
When I say Wallenberg.
But we have Wallenberg.

GULAG PRISONER
When I say Wallenberg.
Secret Wallenberg.

GENERAL
A noble soul in the background.
A hundred thousand Jews have been saved.

JACOB WALLENBERG
Between heroism and torment.

SOLDIER
Angel of salvation.

GULAG PRISONER
A missing hero.

GENERAL
Man in an iron net.

VOICE
I will stain your fingers.
You can scrape me from the fields,
from the tree leaves and the ridges of roofs,
you will not find even so much of me,
that a soldier would start coughing,
when I fly into his throat and who can breathe
thinking of ashes that fly into one’s lungs.

Imagetext  Imagetext

See also: Opera Wallenberg

Imagetext

InEstonian

Imagetext

 ImagetextERKKI-SVEN TÜÜR

The only opera by Erkki-Sven Tüür on DVD. Performed by Estonian National Opera. “Mister Wallenberg, my family will fit in your coat pocket. My family will make your fingers dirty, you can scrape them together from Polish fields, tree leaves and the ridges of gable roofs, there is not even so much left of them that you could paint a cross with ashes on your forehead, not even so much that a soldier would start coughing when they fly into his throat.”
Has received the Estonian State Culture Award!

 

Opera: Act 1 64:52
Opera: Act 2 48:51
Backstage story: rehearsals, staging, première performance 4:22
Photo gallery: authors, performers, performance

Performers

Wallenberg: Jesper Taube (Royal Swedish Opera)
Eichmann: Priit Volmer
Wallenberg 2: Mati Turi
German Officer: Jassi Zahharov
Ronald Reagan: Väino Puura
1st Survivor: Teele Jõks
2nd Survivor: Andres Köster
3rd Survivor: Mart Laur
1st Guest / Jacob Wallenberg: Mart Madiste
2nd Guest / American general: René Soom
3rd Guest / American soldier: Aare Saal
1st Diplomat: Helen Lokuta
2nd Diplomat: Annaliisa Pillak
3rd Diplomat: Juuli Lill
Dame: Riina Airenne
Woman: Aile Asszonyi
1st Russian Officer: Urmas Põldma
2nd Russian Officer: Vladislav Horuženko
3 GULag’s Prisoners: Villu Valdmaa, Aare Kodasma, Alar Haak
Wallenberg 3: Vahur Agar
Jews, guests, GULag’s prisoners: Estonian National Opera Chorus
Estonian National Opera Symphony Orchestra
Assistant conductor: Risto Joost
Conductor: Arvo Volmer

Imagetext  Imagetext

Libretto (in German): Lutz Hübner
The concept of staging: Dmitri Bertman (Helicon Opera, Moscow)
Stage design, costumes and staging: Ene-Liis Semper
Stage directors: Dmitri Bertman & Neeme Kuningas
Recorded at the Estonian National Opera House in Sep 2007
Sound engineer: Maido Maadik (Estonian Radio)
DVD authoring / video production: Jüri Tallinn
Video director: Nadezhda Feodoridi
Assistant video director: Irina Dotsenko
Cameraman / assistant film producer: Sergey Koryagin
Cameramen: Andrey Krokhalev, Valery Gudkov, Alexey Rybakov, Andrey Ilyukhin, Alexey Koryagin
DVD authoring / mastering: Orbital Vox Studios
Liner notes: Liina Viru
Design: Mart Kivisild
Photos: Harri Rospu, archives of Estonian National Opera, Peeter Vähi
Management: Paul Himma, Heidi Pruuli, Tiina Jokinen
Producer: Peeter Vähi (Estonian Record Productions)

Imagetext  Imagetext

Stereo 2.0 and surround 5.1
Format of screen 16 : 9, PAL, Region All
Subtitles in Estonian, Russian, and English
ERP 1808
Manufactured by Sony DADC, Austria
© 2008 Estonian National Opera & ERP

See also: libretto in Estonian and in English.

“...I felt it was one of the strongest experiences that I have had in any opera house ever. I bought the DVD at the same time and my intention was to review it at once. On second thoughts I decided, however, to let it rest for a while. I simply wanted to see if my strong reactions at the live performance had waned when I returned to the opera, which I did almost exactly two months later. It turned out that the experience was, if possible, even stronger the second time around.” (Göran Forsling, MusicWeb International, whole article)

See also other press resonances about Wallenberg
Watch a fragment of Wallenberg on player YouTube

Erkki-Sven Tüür

ImagetextIn the 80s Erkki-Sven Tüür, a student of Prof Jaan Rääts and Prof Lepo Sumera, finds his way into Estonian music. Physically residing on a small Estonian island of Hiiumaa he creates his work in the global sound space. Music by Tüür today is commissioned by renowned international musicians and is more often than not first performed on the world’s stages. Tüür’s aim is provocative and reckless – to melt into music a “catalogue” of the 20th cent styles. He has composed 5 symphonies (1984, 1987, 1997, 2002, 2004), instrumental concertos, a number of shorter symphonic pieces, an opera, a cycle Architectonics for chamber ensemble. There are undercurrents from the neo-style sources and rock music to sonorism and minimalism in his music. It could be taken for a pure fun of experimentalism. While listening one might perceive Tüür’s sound as if from another world – it is like a reflection of human existential consciuosness – metaphysical desert of soul, lonely battles. In the recent works by Tüür one can sense the passion and tenderness of monologue, neoromantic glimmer, the signs of reconciliation and beauty.

Download: Erkki-Sven Tüür in May 2000, photo by P Vähi, jpg, 300 dpi, 724 KB

 

Estonian National Opera

ImagetextThe Estonian National Opera, established in the year 1906, is a historic organisation with vital traditions and manifold functions.
The EsNO’s season, lasting 10 months from Sep until Jun, contains a varied repertoire of opera, ballet, operetta, musicals and children’ pieces. Around 250 performances of up to 30 different works are presented annually, including the cream of classical opera and operetta as well as contemporary masterpieces. On the top of that, the best works of Estonian origin are also shown on the stage!
The Estonian National Opera is the home of the symphony orchestra, the opera chorus and the ballet. The orchestra was founded in 1907 and it now employs almost a 100 musicians. In addition to its theatre assignments, the orchestra regularly performs symphonic works and records world classics as well as the best of Estonian music. The 54-strong opera chorus, besides participating in stage productions, consistently gives concerts on its own as well. The EsNO employs as many as 25–30 soloists. As a compliment to that, it welcomes guest singers on a regular basis. The EsNO ballet, existing within the framework of the opera company and employing approximately 60 dancers, is the country’s largest ballet troupe. Young choreographers are constantly enriching its repertoire of standard favourites with contemporary pieces and occasional avant-garde projects. In order to stay open to new ideas and fresh approaches, The EsNO always makes space and time in its working schedule for joint projects of multifarious nature, and for individual guest artists. For the latter to bring their unique experience onto our stage; for the Estonian audience, to partake of a different artistic vision.
Symbolically speaking, the EsNO’s location in the heart of Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn, is a reflection of the company’s artistic position – at the centre of Estonian culture.


Other recordings of Erkki-Sven Tüür by ERP: 100 Years of Estonian Symphony, Paavo Järvi Conducts EUYO at Glasperlenspiel Festival, Deus Ex Clavier

Other recordings of Estonian National Opera by: 11 CD jubilee-box Estonia – 100, DVD Faust, Cyrano de Bergerac, Lembitu, Artist Chagall, Verdi Wagner 200, CD + bonus DVD Voices of the Estonian National Opera / Estonia Ooperihääled, DVD Georg Udukübara aaria

Imagetext

ImagetextPAAVO JÄRVI
CONDUCTS  EUYO
  AT  GLASPERLENSPIEL FESTIVAL

DVD: Paavo Järvi and European Union Youth Orchestra on Glasperlenspiel Music Festival. Live recording in Estonia Concert Hall, Tallinn.

Anton Bruckner. Symphony No 5
Erkki-Sven Tüür. Aditus

Performed by:
European Union Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Paavo Järvi

ImagetextThe 140-member XXL-orchestra EUYO was the brainchild of Lionel and Joy Bryer, Chairman and Secretary General of the International Youth Foundation of Great Britain. The inaugural tour in 1978 was conducted by the founding music director Claudio Abbado, who donated much of his valuable time to conducting and touring with the young musicians, and by Sir Edward Heath, who was the orchestra’s 1st president. The EUYO’s current music director is Vladimir Ashkenazy.
World famous guest conductors have worked with the orchestra including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Bernard Haitink, Lorin Maazel, Herbert von Karajan, Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, Kurt Sanderling and Sir Georg Solti. Soloists have included Martha Argerich, Emanuel Ax, Teresa Berganza, Barbara Hendricks, Nigel Kennedy, Karita Mattila, Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Viktoria Mullova, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Jessye Norman, Maurizio Pollini, and Pandit Ravi Shankar.
The EUYO has appeared in all the major cities, concert halls, and festivals of Europe. The orchestra has undertaken important foreign tours which have included China, Hong-Kong, Japan, India, North and South America, Eastern Europe, Russia, and the Baltic States.
The EUYO has also won a number of awards, including the Olympia Prize of the Alexander S Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, the Prix d’Initiative Européenne and the European Media Prize.
The 140 players who make up the orchestra are selected each year from over 4000 candidates throughout the 25 EU countries.
The patrons of the orchestra are Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission and the prime ministers of each of the 25 member countries of the EU.

Press resonance

Imagetext Grammy award-winning Paavo Järvi’s remarkable reputation makes him one of the most in-demand conductors on the international stage. Born in Estonia, he studied percussion and conducting at the Tallinn Georg Ots School of Music, in 1980, moved to the USA where he continued his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute with Leonard Bernstein.
He was appointed music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Sep 2001, and has recently extended his contract with the orchestra until 2008–09. During his directorship they have toured together throughout America (including Carnegie Hall), Europe, and Japan. From the 2006–07 season Paavo Järvi will become music director of Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. He also holds the posts of artistic leader of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and artistic adviser to the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. His previous posts include that of principal guest conductor with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In great demand as a guest conductor Paavo Järvi appears regularly with such orchestras as Philharmonia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Munich Philharmonic, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre de Paris, Concertgebouw, Boston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia Symphony Orchestras, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Staatskapelle Dresden, etc. 
Paavo Järvi makes it a priority to work with youth orchestras and in summer 2004 conducted the EUYO’s tour of the Baltic States (including Glasperlenspiel Festival), which marked the countries’ accession to the European Union. He has conducted the UBS Verbier Youth Orchestra, both on tour and in the Verbier Festival. He has also worked with the Russian-American Youth Orchestra in Moscow, Mahler Chamber Orchestra in Ferrara and the New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami.
The most recent additions to Paavo Järvi’s discography for EMI / Virgin Classics include the Grammy award-winning recording of Sibelius’ Cantatas, and Grieg’s Peer Gynt, both with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. With the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra he has released a number of CDs on Telarc featuring works by Ravel, Berlioz, Sibelius, Prokofiev, Tubin, Stravinsky and Debussy – the most recent recording featuring orchestral works by Dvořák and Martinů. He is recording a cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, while recordings of works by R Strauss and Stravinsky with the orchestra have already been released.

ImagetextIn the 80s Erkki-Sven Tüür, a student of Prof Jaan Rääts and Prof Lepo Sumera, finds his way into Estonian music. Physically residing on a small Estonian island of Hiiumaa he creates his work in the global sound space. Music by Tüür today is commissioned by renowned international musicians and is more often than not first performed on the world’s stages. Tüür’s aim is provocative and reckless – to melt into music a “catalogue” of the 20th cent styles. He has composed 6 symphonies (1984, 1987, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2007), instrumental concertos, a number of shorter symphonic pieces, an opera, a cycle “Architectonics” for chamber ensemble. There are undercurrents from the neo-style sources and rock music to sonorism and minimalism in his music. It could be taken for a pure fun of experimentalism. While listening one might perceive Tüür’s sound as if from another world – it is like a reflection of human existential consciousness – metaphysical desert of soul, lonely battles. In the recent works by Tüür one can sense the passion and tenderness of monologue, neoromantic glimmer, the signs of reconciliation and beauty.

Aditus, In memoriam Lepo Sumera (2000/2002); premiere performance by Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and conductor Ralf Otto on Dec 1st, 2000 in Christuskirche Mainz, Germany; commissioned by Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, published by Edition Peters, Germany. 

Recorded at Estonia Concert Hall on Aug 14th, 2004
Sound engineer: Maido Maadik (Estonian Radio)
Video director: Ülle Õun (Estonian TV)
Interviews by Ruth Alaküla (Estonian TV)
DVD authoring by Sten Saluveer, Marko Post, Uku Toomet (Orbital Vox Studios)
Designed by Piret Mikk
Photos: Sheila Rock, Peeter Vähi, archives of ERP
Management by Tiina Jokinen
Artistic supervisor: Peeter Vähi

PAL, 16:9, Region All

ERP 1106
Special thanks to Estonian Ministry of Culture and Huw Humphreys

Press resonance
Watch a fragment of DVD in player YouTube
Other Erkki-Sven Tüür’s and Paavo Järvi’s recordings by ERP: 100 Years Of Estonian Symphony
See also other DVDs produced by ERP: Keyboard Juggleress, Enter Denter

ImagetextKEYBOARD JUGGLERESS

IRINA ZAHHARENKOVA
harpsichord, fortepiano, piano

Pachelbel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven

DVD.

 

J Pachelbel Suite in E major harpsichord
J Pachelbel Aria & 6 Variations from Hexachordum Apollinis harpsichord
J Haydn Sonata No 1 in G major, Hob XVI:8 fortepiano
W A Mozart Variations Lison dormait, KV 264 fortepiano
J Haydn Sonata No 1 in G major piano
W A Mozart Sonata No 13 in B-flat major Linz, KV 333 piano
L van Beethoven Sonata in G major, Op 14 No 2 piano
Bonus track: Festival background
Bonus track: Artist’s message

player J Pachelbel. Aria & 6 Variations from Hexachordum Apollinis, fragm, harpsichord, live, 3 min 33 sec, mp3
player W A Mozart. Variations Lison dormait, fragm, fortepiano, live, 3 min, mp3
player L van Beethoven. Sonata in G major. Andante, fragm, piano, 3 min 44 sec, mp3
player Interview (in Estonian, Russian and English) with Irina Zahharenkova in YouTube

Imagetext

Performed by Irina Zahharenkova
Live recording from Glasperlenspiel Music Festival: July 20th, 2009, St John Church, Tartu
Sound engineered by Tanel Klesment
Cameramen – Maido Madisson, Mare Albri, Ivo Eggi, Silver Riibak, Jüri Tallinn
Video directing and DVD authoring by Jüri Tallinn
Instruments tuned by Ants Saluraid
Designed by Piret Mikk
Liner notes by Annika Kuuda
Translated by Tiina Jokinen
Background music (Concerto piccolo) by Peeter Vähi
Produced by Peeter Vähi

Imagetext

Audio recording in co-operation with Estonian Broadcasting Corporation (ERR)
Manufactured by Baltic Disc

PAL, 16:9, Region All
© 2010 Estonian Record Productions & Soft Spark Investments
ERP 2509

Press resonance: Salvestises räägib maitsekalt kaasa õnnestunud, kontserdisaalipärane helirežii ning muusikasiseseid muutusi sünkroonselt järgiv pildiline lahendus. Tartu Jaani kiriku rustikaalset interjööri, läbi akende kumavat õhtuvalgust, kuulsate keskaegsete figuuride galeriid kiriku interjööris ja isegi haamerklaveri  summutite efektset koori kiirete noodiridade ajal on kaamera taga detailselt tabatud. Irina Zahharenkova mäng väljendab enamasti eelkõige kujundlikkust. Barokkmuusika ja osalt ka klassikalise muusika Urtext on temale üksnes “karkass”, kuhu lisada elavaid kujundeid. Teda paistab inspireerivat nii instrumendi tämber kui klahvpillifaktuur, millele hasartselt lisada virtuooslikke meloodiaornamente. Tema meloodiast ja harmooniast välja kasvanud faktuur kõigutab Urtext’i rohkem, kui ollakse harjutud enesele lubama. Staatilised tempod aeglastes klassikalistes vormiosades aga väljendavad suurt emotsionaalset õrnust. Varase klavessiinimuusika stiili silmamoonduslikud vigurid (millele vihjatakse DVD ingliskeelses pealkirjas – juggleress) on talle õpetanud ornamenteerimist ka hilisemates stiilides, mis kohati mõjuvad peaaegu ekstaatiliselt  nagu sellelgi plaadil võib kuulda Pachelbeli klavessiinifaktuuri kõikides kudedes, kohati ootamatult Mozarti haamerklaverivariatsioonides ja lõpuks Haydni sonaadi klaveriesituse versioonis. Miski selles läbimurdes on väga kaasaegne ja põlvkondlikult julge. (Maris Valk-Falk, Sirp, 16.04.10, Estonia, whole article)

Worldwide distribution by Europe RCD, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ,www.russiancdshop.com, phone / fax +420 233313150
Distribution in Estonia by Easly-Living Music, www.easylivingmusic.ee

See also other DVDs produced by ERP: Enter Denter, Paavo Järvi Conducts EUYO at Glasperlenspiel Festival
See also other piano recordings by ERP: Heino Eller, Estonian Preludes, Northern Lights Sonata, The Well-tempered Clavier I, Sergei Rahmaninov. Piano Works, Toivo Nahkur, Neeme Järvi, Enter Denter, Deus Ex Clavier

ImagetextENTER DENTER

KRISTJAN RANDALU, piano
TALLINN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

DVD and CD. Released on Sep 1st 2010. Presentation concerts: on Sep 16th, 2010 at 7 pm in the hall of Tartu University, on Sep 17th, 2010 at 7 pm in the hall of Estonian Academy of Music, Tallinn, and on Dec 13th, 2010 at 11 pm on the MS Fram, Antarctica (!).

 

Kristjan Randalu. Nach dem Anfang vom Ende / After the Beginning of the End
   Der Weg weg / Path of Departure
   Eine Ahnung in der Vergangenheit / A Notion in the Past
   Spielchen und Rechenschaft / Little Games and Accountability
   Regenbogen / Rainbow

Enter Denter
   Hiirejaht / Mouse-Hunt (U Naisoo / K Randalu)
   Karumõmmi unelaul / Teddy-Bear’s Lullaby (E Tamberg / K Randalu)
   Pipi Pikksukk / Pippi Longstocking (Ü Vinter / K Randalu)
   Nuku hällilaul / Doll’s Lullaby (P Üllaste / K Randalu)
   Võilill / Dandelion (K Kikerpuu / K Randalu)
player watch on YouTube

Encore: Igaühel oma klaver ja orkester / Each One’s Own Piano and Orchestra (trad / K Randalu)

player Kristjan Randalu & Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, fragm, live, audio, 3 min 17 sec, mp3

Bonus tracks: Festival background and Artist’s message (in Estonian, English and German)

Kristjan Randalu developed the idea for Nach dem Anfang vom Ende while living in London, in 2001. During that period three movements of the work were completed: Der Weg weg, Eine Ahnung in der Vergangenheit and Regenbogen. Later he added Spielchen und Rechenschaft. The work in its entirety was premiered by Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Dennis Russell Davies in 2003.
In order to avoid a simplified unification of jazz and classical music, Randalu decided to exclude percussion from the score. The result is a classical orchestral arrangement in the frames of which the soloist plays according to the rules of jazz. There is no integral piano part in the score, only some points of suggestion and thematic ideas. The work revolves around improvisation within the frames of the orchestral score. Consequently, the length of the performance varies, depending greatly on the soloist and his communication with the orchestra.
The second half of the concert takes the listener on a humorous journey through witty improvisations on children’s songs from the once-popular TV program Entel-Tentel.

See also: player interview with Kristjan Randalu on YouTube (in German language)

ImagetextPerformed by Kristjan Randalu (piano) & Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
Live recording from Glasperlenspiel Music Festival, July 19th, 2009, Tartu University Hall
In co-operation with Estonian Broadcasting Corporation and Tallinn Philharmonic Society
Sound engineered by Tanel Klesment
Cameramen – Maido Madisson, Mare Albri, Ivo Eggi, Silver Riibak, Jüri Tallinn
Video directing and DVD authoring by Jüri Tallinn
Photos by Hedvig Hanson, Abraham Nowitz (NY), Kristo Kivimäe, Kristjan Randalu
Graphic design by Mart Kivisild
Liner notes by Inna Kivi
Translated by Tiina Jokinen
Production and background music by Peeter Vähi

Special thanks:
Tallinn Chamber Orchestra for the dedication and making this music come to life
Leho Karin – for supporting the project from the very beginning
Jaan Rääts, Daniel Schnyder – for invaluable advice and help
Tuhalaane village, Heli & Artur Runge, Andre Maaker, Hedvig Hanson – for providing the ideal place to create this music

PAL, 16:9, Region All
Manufactured by Baltic Disc
© 2010 Tallinn Philharmonic Society & Kristjan Randalu
DVD: ERP 2609
CD: ERP 3710

Imagetext  Imagetext

Kristjan Randalu

  • born in 1978
  • the son of two classical pianists of Estonian origin
  • dubbed “a dazzling piano player” by Herbie Hancock
  • Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “Kristjan Randalu establishes himself as part of an elite group of specifically European jazz musicians.”
  • studies in Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Cologne, and at the Royal Academy of Music in London
  • in 2003 moved to New York City, completed education at the Manhattan School of Music (Master of Music Degree)
  • 2005 & 2006: Henry Mancini Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles
  • performed on the two-time Grammy nominated Concord Jazz album Elevation
  • classical, jazz, and cross-over projects with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the New Chamber Orchestra of Berlin
  • performances in Europe, Israel, Turkey, Canada, the USA...
  • co-operations with Alex Acuna, Jay Anderson, Quincy Jones, David Liebman, Christian McBride, Vince Mendoza, Bob Mintzer, the Modern String Quartet, Dennis Russell Davies, Maria Schneider
  • 2007: the Jazz Award of Baden-Wuerttemberg, one of the most notable Jazz awards in Germany
  • an official Steinway artist
  • performances at such venues as The 55 Bar, the Jazz Gallery, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall

Imagetext  Imagetext

Tallinn Chamber Orchestra

  • founded in 1993 by conductor Tõnu Kaljuste
  • consists of outstanding musicians, who often perform as soloists and are invited to perform with various other orchestras and ensembles
  • Harry Traksmann (violin solo), Olga Voronova, Katrin Matveus, Yana Mägila, Kaidi Ugandi, Kaido Välja, Elo Tepp, Mai Rosenroth, Maiu Mägi, Martti Mägi, Kristiina Olev, Laur Eensalu, Arvo Haasma, Leho Karin (cello solo), Margus Uus, Jüri Lepp
  • co-operation with Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
  • performances at many prestigious festivals: Bach Cantatas Festival in Milan, Bremen Music Festival, Huddersfield Festival of Contemporary Music...
  • tours to most European countries, Japan, Canada, the USA
  • guest conductors Richard Tognetti, Terje Tonnesen, Patrick Strub, Valentin Zhuk, Silvio Barbato, Samuel Wong, Risto Joost, Andres Mustonen, Paul Mägi
  • artistic directors and chief conductors  Juha Kangas (1995–96), Tõnu Kaljuste (1996–2001), Eri Klas (until 2009)
  • recordings for ECM: Te Deum and Litany (Arvo Pärt), Crystallisatio (Erkki-Sven Tüür), Neenia (Heino Eller)
  • recordings produced by ERP: Musica triste and Celestials (Maarika Järvi), De spe (Renè Eespere), A Chant of Bamboo (Peeter Vähi)

Press resonance

CD: Worldwide distribution by Note 1 Music (Carl-Benz-Straße 1, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany, phone +49 6221 720351, fax +49 6221 720381, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , www.note-1.de) / Naxos Global Logistics
Distribution in Estonia by Easy-Living Music, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone +372 51 06058

See also other recordings of Kristjan Randalu produced by ERP: Nonstop
See also other DVDs produced by ERP: Keyboard Juggleress, Paavo Järvi Conducts EUYO at Glasperlenspiel Festival

ImagetextPEETER VÄHI

A CHANT OF BAMBOO
Live in Estonia Concert Hall

Vinyl! Vinyl! Vinyl... Limited Edition

 

A1 A Chant Of Bamboo for bamboo flute, percussion and string orchestra 18:16
A2 Forty-two for oboe and chamber orchestra 5:03
B1 The White Concerto for guitar and orchestra (I, II, III) 16:29
B2 Mystical Uniting, arrangement for flute, violin, guitar, 2 tānpūrās and strings 9:19
Performed by:

Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
Slava Grigoryan – guitar, Australia (B1, B2)
Neeme Punder – flute (B2), bamboo flute (A1)
Harry Traksmann – violin (B2)
Andres Uibo – organ (A2)
Nils Rõõmussaar – oboe (A2)
Kaido Kelder, Peeter Vähitānpūrās (B2)
Conductor Risto Joost

Live recording in Estonia Concert Hall, Tallinn, March 16th, 2006
Engineered by Tanel Klesment / Estonian Radio
Designed by Piret Mikk
Liner notes by Tiina Jokinen
Published by ERP (A1), Edition 49, Germany (B1, B2)

player A Chant Of Bamboo, fragm, live rec, 2 min 59 sec, mp3
player Forty-Two, fragm, 1 min 17 sec, mp3
player Mystical Uniting, fragm, 1 min 52 sec, mp3

Special thanks: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Slava Grigoryan, Neeme Punder, Risto Joost, Eesti Kontsert, Tallinn Philharmonic Society, Estonian Radio, Andres Uibo, Elle Himma

© 2006 ERP
LP 1006
Stereo 33⅓
n©b
Manufactured by Pallas Group in Germany

Rating at LogoDiscogs − the biggest database of audio recording: 5.0 / 5

A well-known notion in history is “the Renaissance Man” – an accomplished person with versatile talents. In our busy world of today, we are probably all secretly wondering where this race has disappeared. Where are the people who were capable of creating masterpieces of fine arts, composing interesting music and being successful scientists? Has the world really become “boringly specialised”?
Fortunately, the harmoniously versatile people still exist among us, a good example being Peeter Vähi. As a composer he is first and foremost of traditional academic background but not only... His creative range is somewhat wider than just European classical. It is probably not so surprising that he was the leader and keyboarder of a rock-band in his younger days – it is getting to be a more common phenomenon among the composers of his generation –, though in his case the band Vitamiin was a highly reputed one in the former USSR giving approximately 250 (!) concerts annually in the course of 12 years.
However, much less common for a European classical composer is the Asian theme which Vähi exploits with a natural self-confidence. Among his works are cantatas composed on ritual Sanskrit (Green Tārā) and Tibetan (Supreme Silence) texts as well as on Basho’s haikus in Japanese (Chrysanthemum Garden Chant). Unless one is aware of the composer’s profound knowledge of Eastern, especially Buddhist philosophy as well as his religious convictions – Tibetan Buddhism since many years –, this could sound as a hollow try to follow the general trend.
Should one still doubt the seriosity of Vähi’s creative intentions, it would be a good idea to glimpse at his less internationally known sides. His home audience in Estonia knows Peeter Vähi also as a seasoned traveler in the East and his articles and lectures on Asian culture, religion and history claim a huge fan club. In his music foreign philosophies intertwine with his Northern roots. Many of his works have actually been composed under exotic starry skies: Supreme Silence in a Tibetan monastery; Green Tārā on the backwaters of Kerala in South India; A Chant Of Bamboo in Masai Mara in Africa – to name just a few.
And last but not least, Vähi is an amateur photographer with an exceptionally sharp and keen eye whose photo exhibitions are events by themselves.

A Chant Of Bamboo

for bamboo flute and chamber orchestra (2002 / 2003)

This work unites two passions of the author − his love for the East and for the flute. A Chant of Bamboo was commissioned by the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and was premiered by Hiroyuki Koinuma at the opeNBaroque festival. Since then it has been performed both in Europe and Japan. The solo instrument here is the so-called 6 hon-choshi tuned (could be provisionally compared with B-flat major) Japanese uta-shinobue. The technical range of this instrument has put relatively strict limitations for the solo part, namely contrary to the regular metal flute, it is almost impossible to play most of the chromatic scale on shinobue. However, this limitation seems to have helped the author to achieve a peculiar musical landscape of Japanese-coloured intonations. One more instrument of Eastern origin in this work is a hanging metal plate that the composer has reserved for the conductor to play.
Like in so many other works by Vähi, the Eastern and Western traditions are here united not by first and foremost the choice of instruments but in the sense of aesthetics and musical ideas.

Forty-Two

for oboe, organ and chamber orchestra (1984 / 1997)

Forty-two is one of those few real hits by Peeter Vähi that has been performed live several hundred times, arranged by the author himself as well as other composers and musicians for most different musical staffs − guitar and organ, trumpet and organ, handbell ensemble, vocal soloist and chamber choir, string orchestra − to name just a few.
The birth of this work dates back to the early age of the composer, the initial version being a song with a text. After that it was arranged as an instrumental piece for his rock-band, and only in 1997, the composer himself being 42 years of age, the present-day version emerged.
If at all in music a work could be classified as autobiographic, then it is Forty-two. Several musical geniuses have left this world prematurely and among them unproportionally many at the age of 42. Why has that year been fatal for so many − especially − men? Is it the middle-age crisis? Or the inability to exit a creative labyrinth?
Forty-two has been dedicated to the American, French and Russian idols Elvis Presley, Joe Dassin and Vladimir Vysotsky that did not live to celebrate their 43rd birthday.

The White Concerto

for guitar and chamber orchestra (1991)

The White Concerto is the first concerto for the acoustic guitar and orchestra by an Estonian composer, commissioned in 1992 for European Culture Days. The three-movement concerto makes for easy listening with its undercurrent of Spanish colouring and subtle hints of the composer’s past as a rock-musician.

Mystical Uniting

for flute, violin, guitar and chamber orchestra (1991 / 2006)

Mystical Uniting was initially composed for ensemble Camerata – flute, violin and guitar. This is maybe the most frequently recorded work by Peeter Vähi and not only in its original version. One can find CDs with arrangements for flute and guitar, violin and guitar and even for bassoon in combination with chanting Tibetan Buddhist monks. The recording on the present LP contains a new version again, namely with Indian tānpūrās and a reduced chamber orchestra. Truth be told the role of the orchestra is relatively modest – to create the bourdon characteristic of classical Indian rāgas. The composer has written a strict score only for the three solo instruments; tānpūrās, the orchestra and the conductor are all given the freedom to improvise.

ImagetextSlava Grigoryan was born in 1976 in Kazakhstan and immigrated with his family to Australia in 1981. As a major prizewinner at the Tokyo International Classical Guitar Competition, Slava was signed by Sony Music under the Sony Classical Label in 1995 and has since released 4 solo albums. Reviewing his New York debut, the New York Times said: “A remarkable recital…, what comes across here is guitar playing of uncommon originality and authority”.  Slava Grigoryan has performed at many national and international Festivals such as the Brighton International Festival, the Harrogate International Arts Festival, Dresden Musikfestspiel, the Newbury Festival in the UK, the Guitar Festival of Great Britain, the Darwin International Guitar Festival, the GFA Festival in La Jolla, California, the Wirral International Guitar Festival, the Glasperlenspiel Festival in Estonia, the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut, the New Zealand Arts Festival and the Sydney Festival. He has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Radio Orchestra and more recently the Klagenfurt Symphony Orchestra in Austria and the Halle Orchestra in Manchester, UK. In 1998 Slava was named Young Australian of the Year for the Arts,  and in 2000 he appeared as soloist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra as part of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Arts Festival. He is also a member of Australian Guitar Quartet Saffire.

Tallinn Chamber Orchestra was founded inImagetext1993. The conductor Tõnu Kaljuste has bounded the widely well-known Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir with TCO’s activities. The members of the orchestra are all outstanding musicians, who often perform as soloists and are invited to perform with various other orchestras and ensembles.
TCO has performed in many prestigious music festivals: Bach Cantatas Festival in Milan, Bremen Music Festival, Huddersfield Festival of Contemporary Music, Glasperlenspiel, etc. Concert tours have taken the orchestra and the choir to Canada, the USA, Japan and to many European countries.
The orchestra’s instrumental programs have been prepared mainly together with guest conductors including Richard Tognetti, Terje Tonnesen, Patrick Strub, Valentin Zhuk, Silvio Barbato, Samuel Wong, Olari Elts and Paul Mägi. In 1995–96 the artistic director and chief conductor of the orchestra was Juha Kangas, from 1996–97 to 2000–01 it has been Tõnu Kaljuste, the present artistic director is Eri Klas.
In 1993, TCO and Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir recorded the CD Te Deum. For a year, this record has been on the world’s Top Ten list and has gained exalting appraisals from the critics. Crystallisatio by Erkki-Sven Tüür and Litany by Arvo Pärt were released by ECM in 1996, and another record by ECM Neenia released in 2001 is music for strings by Heino Eller.

Conductor and singer Risto Joost (b 1980) studied singing as well as choral and orchestral conducting at the Estonian Academy of Music, and received further training at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He has participated in the conducting masterclasses of Neeme Järvi, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Eri Klas, Paul Mägi and in early music masterclasses with Paul Hillier and Nigel North. Since 2005 he is studying orchestral conducting with Prof Jorma Panula at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm.
In 1999 Risto Joost founded the chamber choir Voces Musicales. In 2001–02, he was a singer of Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. In 2002, he founded his own orchestra, Ensemble Voces Musicales which is focused on performing Baroque and contemporary music. In 2004, Risto Joost won the 1st prize at the 4th Competition for Young Estonian Choral Conductors. He has conducted the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Tallinn Baroque Orchestra, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Estonian National Male Choir RAM, Swedish Radio Choir, Ars Nova Copenhagen, etc.
Risto Joost also pursues an active career as a counter-tenor. His solo repertoire includes music of the Renaissance and Baroque period as well as 20th cent. He has performed at the Steve Reich Festival (UK), Vantaa Early Music Festival (Finland), Stockholm Early Music Festival (Sweden), Riga Early Music Festival (Latvia), Nyyd Festival (Estonia). Since 2003 he has been involved with the vocal ensemble Theatre of Voices (artistic director Paul Hillier). In 2007 he made his debut in the Estonian National Opera conducting opera Wallenberg by Erkki-Sven Tüür.
Risto Joost is the chief conductor of Tallinn Sinfonietta and the Netherlands Chamber Choir, also the artistic adviser of Glasperlenspiel Music Festival.

ImagetextThe presentation of the record in “Hi-Fi Klubi”, 2006, photo by Kalev Lilleorg (SL Õhtuleht)

Worldwide distribution by Europe RCD, www.russiancdschop.com

Press resonance

See other records with Tallinn Chamber Orchestra: Celestials, Musica triste, Bassoon ConcertosEnter Denter
See other records with participation of Neeme Punder: The Flutish Kingdom, The Hand Of God, Ave..., To His Highness Salvador D, 2000 Years After The Birth Of Christ
See other records of Risto Joost: Maria Magdalena, Pilgrim’s Song, De spe, Bassoon Concertos
See other records of Peeter Vähi: Maria MagdalenaSupreme Silence, Tamula Fire Collage, The Path To The Heart Of Asia, Handbell Symphony, Sounds Of The Silver Moon

ImagetextPEETER VÄHI

MUSIC FOR SYNTHESIZERS

The debute vinyl album of Peeter Vähi. Sold out!

 

1 Reverence, fugue on two themes by J S Bach 3:22
2 Evening Music 16:00
3 Concerto grosso 10:42
4 Gates 7:23

Music composed by Peeter Vähi
Performed by Mati Kärmas (violin), Ivo Sillamaa (synthesizer Juno 60), Andrus Vaht (percussion), Peeter Vähi (synthesizers Juno 60 and Prophet 5)

Recorded at the Tallinn City Hall (Matrix Audio Studio), Tallinn, 1984−1985
Engineered and mastered by Jüri Tamm
Executive producer: Y. Poteyenko (Moscow)
Liner notes by Dmitri Ukhov (Moscow)
Front cover designed by Everi Vähi

LP
AAA, Stereo
1989 Melodiya C60 28297 004

Rating at LogoDiscogs − the biggest database of audio recording: 4.33 / 5

Sovětský svaz a jeho hudební vydavatelství МЕЛОДИЯ občas pustilo do světa perlu, o které soudruzi neměli ani tušení. Mezi ně patří i debutové album estonského skladatele Peetera Vähi (1955). Ovlivněn hudbou tibetskou, asijskou, orientální, rituální, duchovní. To vše spojil s elektronikou, syntezátory, vůbec se s tím nemazlil a vydal nadčas. Natáčelo se v Tallinu v letech 1984−1986. Album v reedici už nikdy nevyjde, protože soudruh šéf Melodije původní pásky propil a vyměnil za vodku. Úchvatné! (Kali Music, 13.03.19, Czech Republic)

See also: Discography of Peeter Vähi