Musical theatre by Monteverdi and contemporary puppet theatre

Is a woman who treads her own path still too much or too little?

Soulmaidens, which blends contemporary puppet theatre, electronic sound design and baroque imagery, is a new stage interpretation of Claudio Monteverdi’s music theatre.

The Italian composer Monteverdi is regarded as one of the earliest opera composers in history. Soulmaidens draws on his works Il ballo delle ingrate and L’Arianna, which premiered in 1608 at the wedding celebrations of Francesco Gonzaga and Margherita of Savoy. 

In both works, women are seen to transgress against patriarchy: Arianna loves too much, while the women of Il ballo delle ingrate love too little.

Soulmaidens marks the beginning of a three-year collaboration between the Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) and the Finnish National Opera.

Pricing

tickets and performances

synopsis

Soulmaidens begins with Arianna’s lament. The abandoned Arianna prepares for death after loving too much and bidding farewell to the world. After her death, her soul leaves her body and embarks on a journey towards the boundary of the underworld.

While in limbo, Arianna witnesses the ritual in the work Il ballo delle ingrate: Venus and Amor summon Pluto, the ruler of the underworld, to conjure the souls who rejected love in life. The ungrateful souls receive a carnal body for a moment and dance before falling apart again.

The viewer is invited into a space of grace and gentleness, where meanings, the unknown and wonder remain sounding.

Creative team and cast

Stage

the keys to an entertaining evening