Abraham’s Feast (Liminka)
Jukka Linkola's Opera at Liminka
Production, Marketing, Video Production, Printed Materials, & Virtual Orchestration
Project Overview
Abraham’s Feast (Abrahamin pidot), an opera composed by renowned Finnish composer Jukka Linkola, with a libretto by Helena Tornberg and choreography by Jouni Prittinen, was a landmark cultural event for the municipality of Liminka, Finland.
The opera delves into the struggles of a singer balancing a love for his homeland, friendships, romance, Finnish nationalism, teaching music, and ambitions of global success. It tells the story of Abraham Ojanperä (1856–1916), a native of Liminka and one of Finland’s most influential vocal artists and pedagogues. Ojanperä was among the first Finnish singers to record music, performed as a soloist in the 1882 premiere of Jean Sibelius’ Kullervo Symphony, and collaborated closely with composer Oskar Merikanto.
He played a crucial role in establishing Finland’s music culture at the turn of the 20th century, championing Finnish-language art songs and serving as the first Finnish-speaking singing teacher at what is now the Sibelius Academy. In 2016, the centennial of Ojanperä’s passing inspired the opera to celebrate his legacy.
Services Involved
Jukka Linkola
Composer
In 2017, a new Finnish opera, Abraham’s Feast, premiered in Liminka. I am the composer of the opera and closely followed the entire event and its preparation period. In 2018, the production was brought to the Helsinki Music Centre, where it was performed twice. A significant change in the production was the transition from a beautiful outdoor theater to a dark indoor venue. This required major and inventive efforts in terms of visualization. In particular, the use of video as a set element in Helsinki was something entirely new.
Eero Karvonen played an exceptionally diverse role in these performances: as an event producer, graphic designer, video creator and editor, as well as the developer of the orchestral backing track used in rehearsals.
This virtual orchestra production was built by Eero from the composition’s Sibelius files. He mixed and designed the backing track, carefully selecting high-quality samples for each instrument. The resulting orchestration sounded remarkably rich and colorful. This was an immense help in staging the work, especially in rehearsing Jouni Prittinen’s impressive choreography. Practicing a dance choreography with only piano accompaniment is not particularly rewarding, and since there was no orchestral recording of the premiere production, having a well-crafted orchestral track was crucial for structuring the stage movement and its proper rhythm.
Eero’s versatile expertise and comprehensive understanding of a newly rehearsed production benefited all participants throughout the entire working process. His approach is calm, cooperative, and constructive, which greatly facilitated adapting the production – originally designed for the cultural park in Liminka – to a completely different venue, the massive Helsinki Music Centre.
Karvonen’s talent encompasses professional ingenuity and an exceptionally broad artistic sensibility. These were essential factors in the success of both performances of my opera. His contribution as a single individual was invaluable!
I wholeheartedly recommend Eero Karvonen’s work in all its aspects.
Helena Tornberg
Author & Director
Creative Entrepreneur
Eero approaches challenges with enthusiasm and dedication. He understands collaboration as a whole while also creatively solving unexpected details.
My Role & Contributions
I was entrusted to work as the producer for the opera. I served as a communication bridge between municipal employees and the opera performers. My responsibilities ranged from negotiating contracts to managing the technical specifications for the newly built Liminka Areena stage.
The production team included over a hundred individuals, featuring municipal staff, dance and singing students from the Oulu University of Applied Sciences, local professional performers, and the Oulunsalo Ensemble orchestra with symphonic additions. My versatile expertise was instrumental in executing this large-scale, multidirectional opera project on a limited budget.
Beyond production management, I contributed graphic design services, revamping the opera’s visual identity and website, creating advertising materials, and designing the event brochure. I also proofread and formatted the libretto for the score, crafted virtual orchestrations for rehearsals, and, at the shows, operated sound effects I had created.
I also gave interviews for local newspapers and radio channels about the project.
Graphic Design
Here are select graphic design works I produced for the marketing. I also assisted with and oversaw the creation of press releases.
Website Overhaul
During the production, I took responsibility for the existing opera website and completely redesigned it using the cohesive branding visuals I had developed. Click the image below to view the site.
Abrahamin pidot (Abraham’s Feast) 2017 website © Eero Karvonen
Photo Gallery
Photographers Skopix and Pirkko Moisander actively photographed the production. The images below are mostly from their contributions. The first gallery showcases scenes from the opera itself; the second one takes a look behind the scenes.
YouTube Videos
To promote the opera, I produced high-quality trailer videos featuring realistic virtual orchestrations of three select pieces, which are available on YouTube.
Featured Animations
For the video trailer, I utilized a 3D camera technique zooming in to photos of the cast and crew.
Crew gallery animated in the opera trailer © Eero Karvonen
Role gallery animated in the opera trailer © Eero Karvonen
For a singalong hymn in the opera, I recreated a virtually orchestrated audio track accompanied by a karaoke-style animation.
A small speck of light follows the rhythm jumping between the notes © Eero Karvonen
After the performances, I compiled audio and video recordings into a video DVD for the performers and municipal archives. See it as a separate project below.
Program Booklet
You can delve into the details of Abraham’s Feast by browsing the program booklet, which I designed from cover to cover, to be handed out to the audience. The box below the program also expands by clicking to reveal the comprehensive listing of the team and personnel behind the production.
Cast & Crew
Reception
The production was a success, with a sold-out premiere and strong attendance for most of the other five shows, earning praise from both the media and the audience.
In 2018, the opera was staged again, this time at the Helsinki Music Centre Concert Hall.
Abraham’s Feast in Media
More Projects Related to Abraham's Feast the Opera
