Opera - The Finnish Prisoner

The long-awaited premiere of the locally produced opera, The Finnish Prisoner, takes place on Wednesday (11th) in Unit 9 of the Phoenix Industrial Estate, a stone’s throw from the North Street Car Park, the site of the former naval prison where 300 Finnish prisoners of war were held in captivity from 1854-6.
The work, written by Orlando Gough, with a libretto by Stephen Plaice, is a community opera, using a local amateur chorus of 55 adults and children as well as a number of professional singers, eight of whom are Finnish. You might have seen them wandering jovially about town in the last two weeks, following the footsteps of their erstwhile compatriots, who were allowed out of the prison on occasion to get some air.
The story of the prisoners is famous in Finland - immortalised in a folk song as famous as ‘Greensleeves’ is to us, telling of how the Finns fell in love with Lewes and Lewes fell in love with the Finns. The last line of the song, known to virtually everybody in the country, goes ‘Lewes is the most beautiful town in the world outside Finland’. Apparently.
Wednesday’s performance, which will be attended by the Finnish ambassador as well as the president of the semi-autonomous region of Arland, where the prisoners were taken, will be in attendance. There are no tickets left for Wednesday’s performance, but seats remain for performances from the 12th to the 15th. Check Paddock Productions’ website for more details. AL