The Estonian National Opera will stream Eduard Tubin’s ballet, “The Goblin” on opera’s Facebook page for free on Saturday, 11 April.
Eduard Tubin (1905-1982) wrote “The Goblin” between 1938-1940. The piece was the first ballet written by an Estonian composer and had its premiere at the Estonian National Opera in 1944. “The Goblin” could be performed only a few times as the theatre suffered severely from the Soviet aerial bombardment in March 1944. “Without having time to change out of their costumes, the dancers fled the building, scaring the citizens in the streets,” the national opera recalled in a statement.
In its new version, the production premiered in 2015 with Marina Kesler being the director and choreographer.
Touching the contemporary issues
The ballet tells a story from an Estonian folklore, about a goblin who steals wealth for a greedy farmer. The ballet’s music is also largely based on Estonian folk music.
In the interpretation of Kesler, however, the ballet touches also contemporary issues. “The Goblin is an allegory of several ideas: a thought in the farmer’s head, a sin on a person’s conscience, a source of wealth acquired by dishonest means, but also a very real creature that you can see on the stage,” she said in a statement. According to the national opera, “Kesler’s staging raises the question – what is really important in today’s hasty and material world? Is there a place for love?”
The performance streamed on 11 April was originally recorded in March 2017. It was conducted by Vello Pähn; the set was designed by Madis Nurms and costumes by Gerly Tinn. The performers include Denis Klimuk, Anatoli Arhangelski, Eneko Amorós, Jevgeni Grib, Marika Muiste and others.
The performance begins at 7 PM EEST (5:00 PM BST/12:00 PM EDT) on 11 April and will remain online for a week. Watching the performance online is free of charge and although it’s streamed via Facebook, the viewer does not need to have Facebook account. For future performances, see the Estonian National Opera Facebook page.
The Estonian National Opera traces its history back to 1870, when the song and drama society “Estonia” was founded.
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Cover: “The Goblin” performed at the Estonian National Opera. Photo by Harri Rospu.
