Light and Darkness

This year’s production from the Piteå Chamber Opera is *Virginia Woolf*— a musical theater piece in two acts filled with melancholy, laughter, and tears. It is a tribute to one of England’s—and the world’s—greatest female authors.

Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) is undoubtedly one of the great literary figures of the last century. Her life and work have fascinated future generations and been explored in films, dissertations, essays, and biographies. Some of her best-known works include *Mrs. Dalloway*, *A Room of One’s Own*, and *Orlando*. Despite her success, Virginia’s life was marked by severe bouts of depression stemming from her bipolar disorder. In 1941, she chose to end her life at the age of 59.

Virginia Woolf was a very multifaceted person and writer, who was also capable of writing with great humor. The audience will notice this in the first act. The act features a staging of Woolf’s 1922 short story, “The Widow and the Parrot—A True Story,” freely adapted for the stage by the director and former music director of the Norrlands Opera, Elisabet Ljungar.

This part of the performance is presented as a spoken play, in which Andrea Björkholm plays the widow, Mrs. Gage, who learns that she has inherited a large sum of money from her stingy brother. But since the money is nowhere to be found, we get to follow the widow’s somewhat comical quest for her inheritance. This showcases Virginia Woolf’s biting humor, and the hope is that the audience will have a good laugh. The music in Act One is drawn from the extensivecatalog of Italian film composer Nino Rota.

The first act is permeated by the mantra that literature is immortal—something that undeniably applies to Virginia Woolf and her life’s work.

In the second part of the performance, we get to know Virginia Woolf in depth by delving into her own diary entries. This takes the form of a song cycle, *From the Diary of Virginia Woolf*, composed by the American composer Dominick Argento. The music was originally written for piano, but for this production, conductor and composer B Tommy Andersson has created a new arrangement for clarinet, cello, and piano.

Argento has selected eight different dates—between 1919 and 1941—from Woolf’s diaries and composed music that offers the audience a kaleidoscopic glimpse into the author’s inner life. On stage are mezzo-soprano Emma Sventelius and voice actress Andrea Björkholm.

Director Elisabet Ljungar has many years of experience as a director and dramaturg. In addition to the Norrlandsoperan, she has worked at the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm City Theater, Malmö Opera, and the Gothenburg Opera, among others. She has also studied literature, which makes her the perfect fit for this assignment.

“For me, it’s a gift to get to know Virginia Woolf—this incredibly fascinating and multifaceted personality—in this way. I was very happy when this opportunity arose, and my heart goes out to the Piteå Chamber Opera,” she says.