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JANUARY 31: KRISTINA ON FINNISH TV´S NEWS
The news item includes footage from rehearsals and short interviews with Benny and Björn.
Björn says it was selfclear that Maria was chosen because of her great singing and acting talent. Benny says that above all they were looking for voices during auditions, everyone had to be able to sing on certain level. But apart from her voice Maria Ylipää has surprised Benny with her energy and lovely personality.
JANUARY 31: KRISTINA ON TV
Today Finnish TV1´s main news broadcast at 20:30 will have news item about KRISTINA. This will have huge audience.
On Saturday Swedish TV4´s morning show NYHETSMORGON will include 20 minutes feature on KRISTINA. Jesper Börjesson has spent a day in Helsinki filming this report. This will be online aswell.
JANUARY 28: NEW KRISTINA VIDEO
KRISTINA site has published a new video: first rehearsals at new main stage at Svenska Teatern! Some music is heard...
JANUARY 28: KRISTINA PADGE...
...can be get here.
JANUARY 28: SVENSKA TEATERN
Yesterday afternoon Svenska Teatern got their house "back" as building company Haahtela conveyed the repaired estate for the theatre. Now Svenska Teatern can really start moving back and settling down. First production opens at new scene Amos in the middle of February. The main stage is of course opened by KRISTINA.
JANUARY 27: BAO
Recent screening of BAO concerts at Swedish TV helped to increase the sales of O KLANG OCH JUBELTID during last few weeks, it is number 9 this week. Chart positions far this:
9-5-22-32-31-32-35-32-36-29-22-20-19-13-9-10-5-5-5-9-7-5-3-3-4-1-1-5-6-4-7-3
JANUARY26: JOHAN HALLBERG
Bohusläningen news paper has interview with Johan Hallberg, who does triple roles in KRISTINA. Apart from chorus he will sometimes be seen as Karl Oskar or Robert. When asked which of the two male lead roles he likes more, he chooses Robert, because he originally auditioned for that role and exciting things happen for Robert during the story. At present there are no dates decided when Hallberg will do one of the main roles.
JANUARY25: KRISTINA TICKETS
At present there are some tickets available for KRISTINA day performances on March 6 and 13.
JANUARY24: KRISTINA NEWSLETTER
Svenska teatern has published another KRISTINA newsletter. There´s not much new things, but it has all recent news items collected together
JANUARY20: INTERESTING COVERS
Great simple version of SUPER TROUPER by Finnish singer Suvi Teräsniska. Shows what a beautiful composition ST actually is.
Strong ballad version of WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE by Finnish singer Anna Eriksson.
JANUARY20: TELL YOUR KRISTINA STORY
Svenska Teatern asks peole to send their story, why they come to see the Kristina. This is their message at offiicial site:
Its so nice we get people from around the world to come to Helsinki and see "Kristina", tell us where you come from and why you come to Helsinki to see the musical. If you like we might use your story on the website www.kristina.fi. If you dont wanna tel on Facebook, write a mail to info@svenskateatern.fi
JANUARY19: KRISTINA
Official site for KRISTINA Helsinki has message written by David Lindström from information services of Svenska Teatern. This is what he writes while putting together the programme book for KRISTINA.
Just read the text that will be in the programme book. It handles emigration from Finland. Three million people left the Nordic countries. 82.000 of them Swedish talking Finns, 1/5 of town Malax in Österbotten county. With what kind of strength it must have affected our society. Our "little" present times´ crisis can vanish and be forgotten when compared. Soon all will learn to know how it was for Mobergs Kristina (you who have not read Utvandrarna books). Was her faith typical for women who emigrated or was Moberg´s story a flavoured story. Would like to know.
JANUARY17: AGNETHA AT ELLE GALA
JANUARY17: LARS RUDOLFSSON
Finnish Tv Yle´s website has the Swedish TV documentary "One year with Lars Rudolfsson" online, to be watched in Finland
JANUARY15: AGNETHA AT ELLE GALA
JANUARY14: AGNETHA AT ELLE GALA
JANUARY13: KRISTINA SUBTITLES
Svenska Teatern writes in their latest KRISTINA news item, that they have bought 100 AirScript translator plates. One keeps this 10x15cm little machine in hands during performance and can choose subtitles in Swedish (for people who have hearing problems), Finnish or English. Svenska Teatern has got bookings for ex. from Australia, Brazil, England, Holland, Japan, Denmark and Norway for KRISTINA. Need for subtitles for several languages is necessary and the theatre chose this product. Svenska Teatern is the first Finnish theatre to provide this kind of service
JANUARY11: GLORIA
Latest issue of ladies´ lifestyle magazine Gloria has large interview with Maria Ylipää. The interview includes no photos from KRISTINA.
Ylipää admits that she is terrified about the role. The outer look of herself into a person who lives in 1800 can be fixed with wig and clothes. But how to feel herself like did the God trusting Kristina whose life was mainly about surviving and had to leave her home country. Being herself a mother helps Maria in creating the role. Ylipää was in a buss when she was reading one of the books and got to the point when Kristina´s daughter dies. She finds it helpless and unfair that Kristina died because there were no preventavises.
JANUARY 9: JON LORD
Jon Lord has written a New Year message for his fans and it sounds his health is getting better.
JANUARY 7: KRISTINA DETAILS
KRISTINA in Helsinki will be over one hour shorter than in Sweden. Day performances at 12:00 will make possible for people from Sweden to see KRISTINA during a day visit. They can arrive with a ferry in the morning and return in the evening.
50.000 tickets have been sold. But Svenska Teatern states that there still are tickets, and some unpaid tickets will come on sale so one can contact box office of theatre and get tickets for spring 2012.
JANUARY 6: YLIPÄÄ INTERVIEW
Huvudstadsbladet has interviewed Maria Ylipää
AT GOOD AND BAD TIMES WITH KRISTINA
In the hard competition Maria Ylipää got the title role in KRISTINA FRÅN DUVEMÅLA. Now she is happy for for being able to act character who is kind.
Wedding carousel goes round in one of the rehearsal rooms of Alexander theatre. Three relentless suitors pray for the hand of stylish Ulrika (Birthe Wingren) but became embarrased when pastor Jackson enters the scene. Happiest of all, though, seems to be the good hearted Kristina (Maria Ylipää). She want nothing more than that a friend will become happy.
-Kristina is so warm and frindly that is is a pure luck to be able to play her, explains Maria Ylipää during a quick lunch.
-Her character gets into me.
Kristina is the main person in the musical KRISTINA FRÅN DUVEMÅLA that is based on Vilhelm Moberg´s epic UTVANDRARNA. The musical is written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and in February Svenska Teatern opens the rebuild house with the classical story of Karl Oskar and Kristina.
Maria Ylipää belong to those who even didn´t think to seek for the much wanted roles in the musical. She went to the audition only after the theatre had phoned and suggested her to do that.
-I indeed have Finnish as mother language and didn´t know neither the story nor the music. I had also no idea how big this story is in Sweden. But when I began to read about it, I became interested.
Today Swedish language flows galantly. Actually it is easier to sing in Swedish than Finnish, says Ylipää.
-All the consonants of Finnish language make it a hard language when one sings. The big language challenge for me are the vocals.
-In addition I get a lot of help. When Björn Ulvaeus listened, he heard that I had problem with a vocal. He then wrote a new lyric line.
The story of poor but hard working couple who leaves home Sweden for a new future in America is a cornerstone in the Swedish literature, as important for Swedes like Väinö Linna´s books are for us.
Maria Ylipää has not seen neither the Swedish musical version with Helen Sjöholm as Kristina nor Jan Troell´s films from early 70´s with Liv Ullman in the female mainrole. Instead she has read the books.
Can you identify yourself with Kristina?
-Sure, the musical handles indeed of things that are the real ones in life - about love, friendship, courage and tolerance. And about surviving.
-In addition immigrant problematics is still an current thing both in Sweden and Finland. KRISTINA FRÅN DUVEMÅLA is not a typical Broadway or West End musical. It is serious.
One of the hardest scenes is when Kristina´s child dies. Mari Ylipää admits that she is moved.
-I am also a mother and it happens that I cry when we rehearse this scene. That is how life was before, it was part of daily life that one´s child died.
-For me it is now to cry the tears out. When we a doing a performance, I must keep myself together.
Kristina´s belief in God is strong and gives her hope when she is hopeless. Maria Ylipää is born and grown up in a cantor family in Nokia. Music had selfclear place at home but the young Maria preferred violin, piano and dance before singing.
After high school she applied to Theatre school and Sibelius Academy, got in to both of them and chose Theatre school.
-It was a good choice. I would have got performance anxiety if I had chosen Sibelius Academy.
-Music is obviously my language but I want to combine both voice and movement. Fo me it is hard to just stand and sing.
JANUARY 6: KRISTINA PROMOTION SHEET
JANUARY 4: HELEN SJÖHOLM
Helen Sjöholm fansite reports that Helen has given birth for twins last week. She got a girl and a boy.
JANUARY 3: FIRST PHOTO OF MARIA YLIPÄÄ AS KRISTINA
JANUARY 2: KRISTINA VIDEO
Svenska Teatern has published a short video clip of the first sing trough of KRISTINA
DECEMBER 27: BAO LIVE 2011
DECEMBER 21: SVENSKA TEATERN XMAS PARTY
Official site fotr KRISTINA Helsinki has news item about Christmas party of Svenska Teatern staff. The party took place at restaurant Kappeli, Benny mentioned in an interview having visited it. The choir of KRISTINA sang Xmas songs and also rest of the Svenska Teatern folks joined to sing Gud jul til er alla (Happy Christmas to all of you) for guests of the cafe part of Kappeli. The news item doesn´t mention did B&B attend.
DECEMBER 15: KRISTINA ON TV
Finnish TV´s programme Pixel has six minutes report about KRISTI
NA warderobe. Kersti Vitali-Rudolfsson presents for ex dress from SUNDAY IN BATTERY PARK scene.
DECEMBER 14: LUDVIG
DECEMBER 5: KRISTINA CONTINUES IN HELSINKI
Right now KRISTINA tickets for March 2 - December 21, 2012 are being sold. Today was announced that KRISTINA will continue at Svenska Teatern also 2013 and tickets will be released in March 2012. The current cast had contracts for one year.
Svenska Teatern also considers publishing a video snippet about the first sing trough of KRISTINA as it was filmed.
DECEMBER 5: KRISTINA
Official KRISTINA Helsinki site has new article about the first time when whole KRISTINA team and Svenska Teatern staff collected together; on December 2.
Theatre chief Johan Storgård said the moment was historical, it took 6-7 years to reach it .
Lars Rudolfsson told that the original productions in Sweden had 70 persons in ensemble and huge orchestra. In Helsinki orchestra and ensemble have smaller number of people and the stage is more intimate., story is somewht shortened.
In Sweden KRISTINA lasted around four hours, in Finland is is about one hour shorter. Lars says it is great to do the musical one more time, and even better than before, otherwise there would be no reason to revisit it.
During the break Lars tells a story about a Finnish woman who saw KRISTINA in Stockholm and left after first act as she though the perfomance was over. Now we have to stage KRISTINA in Finland, so she will be able to see the rest, jokes Lars.
After break another funny thing happens as Benny and Björn and the rest sing the parts of children´s choir with kids´voices.
After the first sing trough Lars says that he feels moved, sad and happy again, though she has done this before.
-It is so damn fine, fantastically good and I am very happy about this, says Benny
DECEMBER 4: HELEN SJÖHOLM AT PREMIERE OF HER FILM SIMON OCH EKARNE
DECEMBER 4: PHOTOS OF LINDA ULVAEUS PROMOTING HER NEW BOOK
DECEMBER 3: LINDA ULVAEUS
Linda Ulvaeus has published thid part of her children´s books. A short video interview here.
Linda Ulvaeus has published thid part of her children´s books. A short video interview here.
DECEMBER 2: HELSINKI
Helsinki KRISTINA site has news item about the first time when the ensemble sang trough the whole piece. Lars Rudolfsson guided trough the story and Henrik Wikström conducted. Staff and production crew had been watching. Not an eye had been dry. Fantastic! has been Benny´s comment.
NOVEMBER 25: AARHUS
MAMMA MIA! opened at Musikhuset in Aarhus, Denmark, yeaterday. No ABBA member came to the premiere. 33.000 of 45.000 available tickets are already sold. MM! will play til end of the year.
NOVEMBER 17: BOYLE
YOU HAVE TO BE THERE gets new listeners as Boyle´s album is doing well:
Canada number 6,
USA number 7 (last week 4)
Ireland number 11
Finland number 43
New Zealand number 2
NOVEMBER 15: NEW BJÖRN LYRICS
Tommy Körberg, 63 and Swedish pop singer Danny Saucedo, 25, who both were coaches in Swedish TV´s True talent, will record a single together. I CAN SEE MYSELF IN YOU is composed by Tobias Gustavsson and lyrics are written by Björn Ulvaeus. The melody had existed for some time waiting for right moment. No plans for release date, just that the balld will be recorded soon, and Saucedo hopes the recording would take place at Benny Andersson´s studio.
NOVEMBER 14: BOYLE
Susan Boyle´s new album SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME with YOU HAVE TO BE THERE as opening track went straight to number 1 on British and Australian charts!
OCTOBER 27: HUVUDSTADSBLADET
Finnish newspaper Huvudstadsbladet has article about the building project of Svenska Teatern. The house is painted outside, new building of 600 m2 is completed, air condition, large scene and scene technique are closing to be completed. Acrhitect Stefan Ahlman is chief for the rebuilding project and tells that installation of electricity is what takes most time. He quaratees that everything will be ready well in time before KRISTINA premieres in February 2012.
Large scene will be tested already in December. As always when old buildings are rebuild, surprises come along the way but no major ones have occured at Svenska Teatern. Ecological solutions have been made, although it is more expensive to have stockyard at property of the theatre, it is more ecological than constantly driving between theatre and more cheap stockyard somewhere outside the city of Helsinki. There are three new lifts and staff can move big stage elements with them. There are 200 more seats for the audience. The scene will be seen better and number of these kind of seats is double compared to the past. Also for orchesta there´s no more space so even the extended orchesta for KRISTINA will have good place.
OCTOBER 26: KRISTINA
Finnish magazine Suomen Kuvalehti writes about KRISTINA. Already 10.000 tickets have been sold to Sweden, for private people and travel agencies that will arrange theatre trips to Helsinki from all around Sweden. Although KRISTINA is not yet that well known in Finland, it will become that, partly because Benny and Björn are well known in Finland, and as they soon move to Helsinki for rehearsal period and will become regular sight on streets of Helsinki.
OCTOBER 21: ARCHIVES
OCTOBER 19: CHESS TO GOTHENBURG
GöteborgsOperan will stage CHESS with premiere planned for September 3, 2012. They will be using the version Lars Rudolfsson reworked for Stockholm ten years ago. Mira Bartov will direct. Auditions will take place November 21-23.
The original 2002 production from Stockholm was planned to take to Gothenburg, but technical problems stopped that plan by then. Those problems have been solved now.
OCTOBER 19: MM! BROADWAY 10th ANNIVERSARY
It looks like Judy Craymer was the only member of the MM! creative team to attend the 10th anniversary on Broadway.
OCTOBER 16: ARCHIVES
OCTOBER 15: WEST END
MAMMA MIA! started it´s London run at Prince Edward Theatre in 1999 and moved to Prince of Wales Theatre a few years ago. In 2012 after the Olympics, the show will move again, this time to Novello Theatre.
OCTOBER 12: KRISTINA
Svenska teatern has new video and article about costumes of KRISTINA.
In December 2010, costume designer Kersti Vitali (wife of Lars Rudolfsson) and chief for warderobe department, Kaisa Rautakoski, had first meeting. Material and colours of clothes are important part of scenography in KRISTINA. The trip from Sweden to America is underlined also with colors and material, from dark colors in home country to light colors and materials in the new world.
Materials come from England, Germany, Sweden and Finland. They are hand painted to get just the righ tone of color. The challenge is to produce clothes that look like hand made in 1800´s. No stiches made by machines may not be seen.
28 members of the ensemble change clothes 4-5 times. Alltogether there will be about 600 costumes. Usually in a musical has 100-200 clothes.
Around 200 pairs of shoes are needed for KRISTINA. Some where ordered directly from a show fsactory. But in the shops today there are also shoes of old model available, for ex. in H&M and DinSko.
Kaisa Rautakoski describes a good theatre costume: it must feel good, not to be too warm, all kind of movements must can be done, changing happens easily, and preferably can be washed in the theatre.
Costumes must be completed two weeks before premiere. Rautakoski and Vitali attend intensively the rehearsals and fix costumes all the time.
OCTOBER 3: ARCHIVES
SEPTEMBER 30: SVENSKA TEATERN
A minor fire took place at Svenska Teatern in Helsinki today. Firemen got the fire under control quickly and the nearby streets that had to be closed, are again opened for traffic.
APRIL 15: KRISTINA
B&B told in London that if KRISTINA FRÅN DUVEMÅLA in Helsinki in 2012, in smaller theatre, less people on stageand smaller theatre, works well, they may do the musicaö in Stoclholm again. After Helsinki they will think about a West End production.
APRIL 15: NO MORE KRISTINA FOR HELEN?
Helen Sjöholm says in Swedish press that the performance at Roual Albert Hall will be her last KRISTINA appearance. She has done the stage version 500 times and sung the music in concerts. At the same time she admits that if the show was staged in London, it would feel strange to see someone else doing the role of Kristina.
APRIL 12: BENNY WRITES FOR ROYAL WEDDING?
Aftonbladet claims that Benny Andersson will write a song for the Royal wedding the coming summer. The paper has contacted Benny in London and he says he is writing nothing new at present. It is natural if he denies the whole thing as details of the concert are tried to be kept secret. The song is expected to be performed at the concert the day before the wedding.
APRIL 7: AGNETHA
APRIL 6: AGNETHA 60
Björn says in Swedish press that he doesn´t know where Agnetha celebrated her 60th birthday. That has taken place in a secret place.
MARCH 20: FRIDA IN NEW YORK
MARCH 15: N.Y.
Frida told last night in New York that she is recording an album with a musician, and it will come out gradually. She didn´t tell more but obviously the project with Jon Lord is going on. She sometimes gets nostalgic and listens old ABBA songs at nights.
Frida mentioned some of her favourites at Hall of Fame: Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and Gladys Knights, but avove all Dusty Springfield. Frida thinks Roxette would fit in the Hall of Fame.
Agnetha had sent greeting s via Frida that she is equally proud as Frida to be among the few women who are accepted to Rock Hall of Fame
Benny said that Kraftwerk would deserve a place in Rock Hall of Fame. He had had a nice meeting with Bee Gees, the previous time was 31 years ago.
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