Sallinen: The King Goes Forth to France

The third of the Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen’s six operas, The King Goes Forth to France is also the most consciously international in its outlook. A joint commission between the Savonlinna Opera Festival (where it was premiered in 1984), the BBC and Covent Garden (where it was staged in 1987, in a production by Nicholas Hytner, no less), the story is a contemporary fantasy inspired by the Hundred Years War but set in an England threatened by a new ice age.

Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:59 pm

COMPOSERS: Sallinen
LABELS: Ondine
ALBUM TITLE: Sallinen
WORKS: The King Goes Forth to France
PERFORMER: Tommi Hakala, Jyrki Korhonen, Riikka Rantanen, Lilli Paasikivi, Mari Palo, Laura Nykänen, Jyrki Anttila, Herman Wallén, Santeri Kinnunen;

Helsinki PO/Okko Kamu


CATALOGUE NO: ODE 1066-2D

The third of the Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen’s six operas, The King Goes Forth to France is also the most consciously international in its outlook. A joint commission between the Savonlinna Opera Festival (where it was premiered in 1984), the BBC and Covent Garden (where it was staged in 1987, in a production by Nicholas Hytner, no less), the story is a contemporary fantasy inspired by the Hundred Years War but set in an England threatened by a new ice age. It has been aptly described as ‘a fairy tale for grown ups’, and has lost nothing of its resonance: the protagonist starts out as an idealist and ends up as a power-crazed, war-mongering tyrant.



The music, some of Sallinen’s strongest, still stands up extremely well. The composer has a witty way of evoking the ceremonial moments in a sort of modern pomp and circumstance. The black comedy is rooted in the score, and there is sweep and pace – in short, the opera shows Sallinen’s innate theatricality. Kamu, who conducted the premiere, takes authoritative charge here of a recording based on a concert performance last year in Helsinki. The four leading female roles (two Carolines and two Annes) are cast with strongly characterised voices, Jyrki Korhonen discloses a resonant bass as the Prime Minister, and Tommi Hakala brings a virile baritone to the title role.



John Allison

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