The Medium

Often full of drunken rage, the Medium has for years cashed in on the miseries and tragedies of her clients by organising staged spiritualism sessions together with her daughter and a mute boy servant. One day, the sessions take a new direction, as the Medium feels a set of hands strangling her and hears voices that should not be there. What will happen when the ingeniously built performance comes tumbling down?

Gian Carlo Menotti (1911–2007) conducted the short opera in 1946. The Turku performance will be directed by actors Kari Pekka-Toivonen and Merja Larivaara. The soloists include solo singer Päivi Nisula from the Finnish National Opera, Tuomas Pursio from Leipzig Opera and Tiina Vahevaara, a frequent National Opera performer. The opera will feature the Turku Ensemble Orchestra, conducted by Marko Autio.

After the performances, the audiences will be invited to open discussion sessions regarding the themes in the performance. The discussion theme will be introduced by a theme expert or an opinion leader. After this, the discussion is open between the expert guest, the actors, the production team and the audience.

The performance is produced by the Saaristo-oopperayhdistys ry. Association. The series of discussion events will be organised in cooperation with the City of Turku Cultural Services.