| Commissioned | The Finnish National Opera |
| Opus Number | 62 |
| Libretto by | Monica Vikström-Jokela |
| Language | Swedish |
| Category | children opera |
| Year | 2018 |
| Duration | 45 min |
| Orchestration | soprano, mezzo soprano, baryton, two children sopranos, children choir, electric piano, electric guitar |
| Premiere | 15th of March 2019, Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera |
About
A 45 minute opera in one act for children. World premiere on the 15th of March 2019. Going on tour around schools in Finland autumn 2019.
Storyline
The girl Joy tries to get contact with others her own age, but fails. Even as she tries to get them interested in her dog Jack, the others are more interested in the latest animal videos online. As an angry reaction, Joy puts out a video of her dog Jack, where he yelps comically because he needs to pee so badly.
The video becomes a hit, and overnight, Joy is a vlog celebrity. She thinks she has achieved her goal, but then she meets the Advertising Man. He urges Joy to create more and more videos, where the dog Jack is humiliated more and more. Joy (as well as the Advertising Man) become rich. The fame gets to her head, and she finally boasts that she can afford to eat kangaroo chops and ostrich steaks and walk in shoes made of lizard skin and wear bracelets of tuna teeth.
Due to Joy’s videos being the most viewed, she is chosen to test a new world sensation: a portal that leads to another planet. She is afraid, but the Advertising Man says he has already sold the rights to Netflix and HBO so she can’t say no. Joy and Jack are pushed through the portal – and suddenly find themselves on the Animal Planet.
On the Animal Planet, the norm is to be an animal and the roles are reversed: The leash that Joy held in her hand has now been attached to her bracelet, and Jack is holding the other end. A tuna fish called Tin welcomes Jack and his strange pet. The animals are curious about how it is on Jack’s planet, and Joy is close to revealing that she usually eats both kangaroo and ostrich, but Jack protects her.
Joy gets angry about not being taken seriously and that she is treated like something to laugh at, so she demands to meet the planet’s ruler. She thinks it will be a human, but it turns out to be a dragon. The dragon talks about how important it is on the Animal Planet to take care of everything that lives and grows. But when the dragon asks what his little cousins are up to, the lizards on Earth, he sees Joey’s shoes of lizard skin and threatens to knock her down with his dragon tail. Jack helps Joy escape back through the portal.
Back on Earth, everyone wants to see what comic videos Joy has filmed on the Animal Planet. But she never wants to create such videos anymore. She tells everyone what she has learned: If we want to live on this planet, we can no longer consider it merely the planet of man. The Earth must as well become the Planet of the Animals.
Article
Cecilia Damström writes the first Swedish school-opera in Finland.
Performances
World premiere 15th of March 2019 at 6 PM at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera – More info
March 16th 2019 at 12 PM, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera – More info
March 16th 2019 at 3 PM, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera – More info
Autumn 2019
29.10 at 6 PM, Children from Granhultsskola, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera
30.10 at 6 PM, Children from Rudolf Steinerskolan i Helsingfors, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera
31.10 at 6 PM, Children from Mårtendalsskola, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera
1.11 at 6 PM, Children from Grännässkolan, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera
4.11 at 6 PM, Children from Hyvinge svenska skola, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera
5.11 at 6 PM, Children from Boxby skola, at Almi Hall, The Finnish National Opera
7.11 at 6 PM, Children from Mikaelsskolan, at Mikaelskolan, Ekenäs
12.11 at 6 PM, Children from Oulun normaalikoulu, at Oulun normaalikoulu, Koskela
14.11 at 6 PM, Children from Haapaniemenkoulu, at Haapaniemenkoulu, Viitasaari
19.11 at 6 PM, Children from Svenska samskolan i Tammerfors, at Svenska samskolan i Tammerfors, Tampere
21.11 at 6 PM, Children from Vatialan koulu, at Kangasala-talo, Kangasala
26.11 at 6 PM, Children from Björneborgs svenska samskola, at Björneborgs svenska samskola, Pori
28.11 at 6 PM, Children from Kristinestads skola, at Kristinestad