Café Barock Kalliosalissa: Laura Maddalena – English premiere

Laura Maddalena - a solo play for an acting harpsichordist

ON STAGE: Elina Mustonen  

MUSIC AND ORIGINAL TEXT: Eero Hämeenniemi 

DIRECTION: Johanna Freundlich 

VISUALIZATION: Nina Mansikka

LANGUAGE: English

Harpsichordist and actress Elina Mustonen delves into life at the ospedale the Italian 

orphanages for girls dating back to the Middle Ages in a work commissioned especially from

composer Eero Hämeenniemi. Towards the end of the 17th century the Venetian ospedales

became some of the foremost music schools for girls in Europe with teachers including

such illustrious maestri as Vivaldi Galuppi Cavalli Gasparini Legrenzi et al.

The musical drama Laura Maddalena tells the story of two girls who lived at the ospedale

at different times bringing together history and fiction Venetian harpsichord music and

new music and texts by Eero Hämeenniemi. In addition the performance includes music

by Luigi Rossi Barbara Strozzi Domenico Scarlatti Baldassare Galuppi and Ferdinando

Bertoni. 

Elina Mustonen has had a long and impressive career as the most respected artist in her field in Finland. During the recently ended five-year artist professorship she has focused especially on interdisciplinary solo performances in which she combines her roles as a musician and an actor. Her Shakespeare performance seen on Broadway and in Britain has toured widely in Finland and abroad in both English and Finnish.

Mustonen has performed and recorded extensively throughout Europe and the United States. She has also appeared in short films and TV productions. Her Hamlet monologue was chosen from more than 500 as part of the Shakespeare Solos project of the Globe theatre and The Guardian magazine.

Elina Mustonen has completed a diploma in harpsichord at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam under the direction of Ton Koopman and graduated with a doctorate in music from the Sibelius Academy in 2006. She has studied acting in e.g. at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.

The University of the Arts chose Mustonen as Alumna of the Year 2019.

Eero Hämeenniemi (1951-) is a Finnish composer writer and improvising pianist.

One of his many interests is Italy and Italian history and he has written three books

on Italy and is working on the fourth.

The monodrama Laura Maddalena had been expanded into a novel Kulkija Venetsiassa

(Camminando a Venezia Basam Books 2022).

Doors: 7 p:m

Showtime: 8 p:m

The bar opens at 7 p:m and is open during the show (Please note: only card payments).

Tickets: 10 / 15 € from the door (cash/card) one hour before the show and in advance: Holvi (holvi.com/shop/ensemblenylandia)

Kalliosali: Pengerkatu 11 00530 Helsinki.

Accessible entrance through the courtyard can be arranged in advance: cafebarock (at) ensemblenylandia.info

Organized by: Café Barock / Kulttuuriyhdistys Ensemble Nylandia ry

Host or Publisher Ensemble Nylandia