FNO – Musica nova – Taite ry: Denis & Katya

Philip Venables – Ted Huffman
3 performances
8.3.2023 – 11.3.2023
Guest performances
Almi Hall
Total duration 1 h 5 min
Total duration 1 h 5 min
no intermission
3 performances
8.3.2023 – 11.3.2023
Guest performances
Almi Hall
Performed in Finnish
No surtitles

The Finnish premiere of an award-winning opera

Denis & Katya tells the heart-wrenching true story of a teenage couple. The tragic chain of events makes us consider both how we tell stories and how these stories may become distorted over the internet.

This affecting production had its world premiere at Opera Philadelphia in autumn 2019 and has since been performed to critical acclaim at opera companies around the world. It won the Fedora Generali Prize for Opera in 2019 and the Ivor Novello Award in 2020.

In November 2016 Denis Murayov and Katya Vlasova started a broadcast on the Periscope live streaming app, which showed the harrowing final days of the teenage couple. As the hours passed, Denis and Katya continued their broadcast, reaching an ever bigger audience, and speculation on the internet became increasingly rampant.

Tickets to performances in spring 2023 will go on sale 4 October at noon.

Tickets & Performances

1 h 5 min
no intermission
3 performances
8.3.2023 – 11.3.2023
Guest performances
Almi Hall
Performed in Finnish
No surtitles
Wed 8.3.2023
at 19:30
Almi Hall
Cast
Fri 10.3.2023
at 19:30
Almi Hall
Cast
Sat 11.3.2023
at 14:30
Almi Hall
Cast

Denis & Katya is a co-production with Taite ry. The opera is part of the Musica nova Helsinki festival.

Musica Nova Helsinki

Synopsis

In November 2016 two Russian teenagers, Denis Murayov and Katya Vlasova, started a broadcast on the Periscope live streaming app. They told their audience they had run away from home after an argument with Katya’s parents and gone hiding in an abandoned cottage. Three days later, they were still entrenched there, besieged by the police.

While the events at the cottage unfolded, the audience watching the live stream grew. Friends, relatives, classmates, teachers from the couple’s home town, and strangers from around the world took part in the discussion linked to the live broadcast.

The following day, Denis and Katya had already made global news. With thousands of followers, they had become an internet phenomenon that eventually came to a tragic end.

The opera has six characters whose roles are performed by two singers. They tell Denis and Katya’s story from six different points of view.

The full synopsis can be found in the programme leaflet.

#DenisJaKatya #MusicaNovaHelsinki

An opera that poses difficult questions

”The British composer Philip Venables and the American librettist Ted Huffman have created a unique work with a striking dramaturgy,” says Johanna Freundlich, who has directed and translated the opera for the Finnish stage. “It poses questions about humanity, which are often not easy. What effect does our gaze have? Where do you draw the line on voyeurism? How can we really see someone before it’s too late? Despite its distressing subject matter, the work has a remarkable sense of documentary and respects the integrity of its characters.

Creative team

Music
Philip Venables
Libretto
Ted Huffmann
Finnish translation, director
Johanna Freundlich
Lighting design, video design
Janne Teivainen
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Cast

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Complete the experience with refreshments

What can we get you?

Choose your favourite refreshments from this season’s tasty menu. You can easily add refreshments to your shopping basket while selecting tickets in our online store.

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