Forbidden Love and Blood Feuds

Here we hear the story of Maj-Britt, a Laestadian widow who harbors strong—but forbidden—feelings for her friend Sune. She is called to account by three older women who demand that she end her new relationship so as not to risk eternal damnation. What follows is a dramatic story of love and sorrow, faith and hope, life and death. And perhaps above all—of blood vengeance.

On stage, we meet four strong female leads.

Mae Haydorn (as Maj-Britt), mezzo-soprano/contralto from Sweden and Germany.
Susanna Sundberg (Ottilia), alto, a graduate of the Stockholm Opera Academy.
Karin Lovelius (Elsy), Swedish-German mezzo-soprano.
Lisa Henningsohn (Ingrid), a soprano from Sundsvall.

Video artist Markus Öhrn is directing the production. Composer Maria Lithell Flyg has written the music for the opera, and poet David Väyrynen has written the libretto.

Expect this opera to evoke strong emotions:
“Here, many repressed emotions find an outlet in a dramatic sequence of events—sorrow, love, frustration, anger, forbidden desire,” says Maria Lithell Flyg.

The tone and music are structured differently, as the stress patterns and language come from Meänkieli. David Väyrynen drew heavily on Laestadian sermons when writing the libretto:

“It has a special rhythm and is a special kind of Swedish. I’ve worked a lot with language in the past, and I’ve now started to crack the code,” he says.

Markus Öhrn, who has roots in Tornedalen, has on several previous occasions paid tribute to his grandmother, who grew up in a Laestadian household. She had always conducted herself properly and never strayed from the strict Christian path. On her deathbed, however, she said she wished she had followed her own desires more in life, that she had dared to live a little more recklessly.

Here, Markus Öhrn, inspired by his grandmother’s last words, tells a story of desire and revenge.

“Seeking revenge was not part of my grandmother’s worldview. But now she gets to be reborn as a fierce avenger. I see it as a tribute to her,” says Markus Öhrn, who is in charge of directing and set design.