100 Years Ago... Jussi and Karl

In SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR, events 100 years ago have embroiled Jussi Mantere and the Solbakken family in fighting for the White army.

Jussi and his father have had artillery training. Ivor Solbakken, known as Rabbit, has been separated from his brother Karl, who is in the infantry--a foot soldier, in the thick of the action. Rabbit is ostensibly learning to be a cook. The White infantry is joined by artillery in fighting near Vilppula, as Red forces push toward crossroads and rail lines.

Food from Russia is no longer reaching Karl's unit, so they're hungry. And rumours of atrocities swirl like snowflakes--both sides hearing stories that paint the other as irredeemably cruel and evil.

Spring may be returning to Finland, in its nascent independence from Russia. But the relationships among its peoples remains bleak.

Finnish Civil War Opera: My Brother's Keeper

The premiere of VELJENI VARTIJA, an opera by noted Finnish composer Olli Kortekangas, is this Friday, February 16, in Tampere, Finland, at Tampere-Talo. Set in 1918, the opera is "about hate and mercy," focusing on a brother and sister who end up on opposite sides of the Finnish Civil War.

The title translates as "My Brother's Keeper."Librettist and stage director Tuomas Parkkinen says, "The opera is thematically anti-war, and it hardly contains any ideological discussion or political pleas. The name comes from the bible, when Cain, after taking his brother’s life, asked God 'Am I my brother’s keeper?' The answer is yes. We must all look after one another."

Olli Kortekangas has written many operas as well as other vocal works. The opera is in Finnish, with subtitles in both Finnish and English. There will be six performances.

Many thanks to Lakehead University professor emeritus Dr. Raija Warkentin for alerting us to this exciting premiere. Now, if only we were in Finland!