Lahti Symphony performs the Chess in Concert by the ABBA composers in August
15/04/2005
The Lahti Symphony Orchestra performs in August 2005 at the Sibelius Hall in Lahti the musical Chess by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice as a concert version. Chess will be performed in Lahti altogether three times in successive nights on 18-20 August 2005. The conductor is Jaakko Kuusisto and the soloists are Maria Ylipää, Juha Hostikka and Vocal Ensemble Rajaton. The choir parts will be performed by the Lahti Bach Choir assisted by the Swing It! choir. The performances will be directed by Lasse Kantola, with whom the Lahti Symphony has worked earlier in connection with e.g. ABBA and Beatles concerts.
Chess musical has been a success around the world and some of its pieces have become true hits, such as One Night in Bangkok and I Know Him So Well. Chess has been performed e.g. at the Prince Edward Theatre in London for almost three years in 1986-89. ‘Here is a musical which has something to say’, reported the Daily Telegraph in 16 May 1986, and the Times wrote on 15 May 1986: ‘CHESS turns out to be a fine piece of work that shows the dinosaur mega-musical evolving into an intelligent form of life’. Chess has been performed in Finland earlier at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki in 1997.
Chess casting in Lahti
Maria Ylipää – Florence
Juha Hostikka – Anatoly (the Russian)
Hannu Lepola – Freddy (the American)
Jussi Chydenius – Molokov
Essi Wuorela – Svetlana
Soila Sariola – The Arbiter
About the performers
Violinist, conductor and composer Jaakko Kuusisto conducts in 2004-2005 e.g. the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oulu Symphony Orchestra and Tapiola Sinfonietta. In summer 2004 Kuusisto conducted also his own opera the Canine Kalevala at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. The opera was a big success and it will be performed in Savonlinna also in summer 2005. Kuusisto has been the concert master of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra since 1999.
Maria Ylipää has studied at the Theatre Academy of Finland and is maybe best known as an actor for her lead role in the film Keisarikunta (Empire) and the co-star role in the TV series Rikospoliisi Marja Kallio (Detective constable Marja Kallio). Ylipää is also known as a very talented musical singer, and she has performed at the Helsinki City Theatre (musicals Cinderella 2003 and Miss Saigon 2004) and at the TTT Theatre of Tampere (musical Suruttomat 2004).
Tenor Juha Hostikka has studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and at the moment her teacher is Irina Gavrilovic. Hostikka has performed at the Finnish National Opera since 1999 and in addition in local opera productions in Finland. In summer 2004 Hostikka performed successfully in the role of Ilmarinen in the opera Canine Kalevala by Jaakko Kuusisto at the Savonlinna Opera Festival.
Founded in 1997 by six Finnish singers, vocal ensemble Rajaton has fast made its mark in the international a cappella scene with its fresh approach to choral music. The group is distinguished by brilliance and ensemble virtuosity coupled with warmth and richness in sound that can only be described as boundless (rajaton). The Lahti Symphony has worked with the ensemble earlier in connection with ABBA and Beatles concerts.
The Lahti Bach Choir was established in 1982, when in Lahti it was needed a permanent choir for performances of big choir works with orchestra accompaniment. Since 1988 the Artistic Director of the choir has been Master of Music Johanna Kallio. In the Chess performances the choir is reinforced by the entertainment choir Swing It!
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