POSTHUMAN / IHMISEN JÄLKEEN, chamber opera by Max Savikangas & Teemu Mäki

POSTHUMAN / IHMISEN JÄLKEEN

English / Finnish

Composer: MAX SAVIKANGAS.
Libretist & director: TEEMU MÄKI.

Chamber opera, 2 hours (includes an intermission).
Language: Finnish & English.
Produced by Finnish Chamber Opera.
First performed in Dance House Helsinki, 3.3.–7.3.2023
as a part of Musica Nova Helsinki Festival.

What comes after humans? If anyone can remember us, what will they know about our species? What will they think about our civilization?

Download the opera's handbook, in Finnish (PDF).

Posthuman is a multidisciplinary science fiction chamber opera, where different art forms come together equally. In the story, posthuman beings conduct an experiment in which human genes and memes are put into a nonhuman child.

The world premiere opera is composed by Max Savikangas, the libretto and direction are by Teemu Mäki, the choreography is by Petri Kekoni, and is produced by the Finnish Chamber Opera. The cast consists of Reetta Ristimäki, Petri Bäckström, Susanna Tollet, and Tuukka Haapaniemi, as well as Meri Pajunpää and Anna Stenberg as dancers, a four-member singing group, and a 10-member orchestra.

Are you interested in music, dance, theater, or visual arts? What about poetry, philosophy, politics, or posthumanism? If the answer is yes, then our performance for vocal soloists, choir, ensemble, electronics, dancers, text, images, and light is perfect for you!

TEASER VIDEO 1

TEASER VIDEO 2

YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company) commissioned a radio version of the opera. We made the adaptation in Autumn 2023. The radio version first broadcast 29.3.2024 and streaming after that on YLE Areena:
Act 1 (46 min)
Act 2 (49 min)

CREDITS

Composition: Max Savikangas
Libretto & direction: Teemu Mäki
Conductor: József Hárs
Choreography: Petri Kekoni
Costume design: Iida Ukkola
Light design: Erno Seppälä
Sound design & sound tech: Anders Pohjola & Max Savikangas
Video (& generative video): Teemu Mäki (& Calvin Guillot, Małgorzata Nowicka)
Choirmaster: Jonas Rannila
Répétiteur: Jussi Littunen
Realisation of costumes: Jenni Räsänen, Iida Ukkola
Decor & props: Teemu Mäki (with Mikko Ängeslevä)
English translation: Ida Hansen & Teemu Mäki
Producers: Nea Huovinen, Max Savikangas
Marketer: Ida Hansen
Production: Finnish Chamber Opera, artistic director Reetta Ristimäki
Partners: Aalto University, MAGICS, Greta Productions & Petri Kekoni Company
Performance photos: Maarit Kytöharju (& Teemu Mäki)
Program leaflet: Nils Krogell

Solo singers:
• Reetta Ristimäki, soprano - Birch
• Susanna Tollet, mezzo soprano - Fog
• Petri Bäckström, tenor - Machine
• Tuukka Haapaniemi, bass - Child
• AI - sample library

Dancers:
Meri Pajunpää & Anna Stenberg - Dark Matter & Dark Energy

Choir (Vety & Helium):
• Heta Kokkomäki, soprano
• Nairi Azezian, mezzo soprano
• Martti Anttila, tenor
• Jussi Linnanmäki, bass

Chamber ensemble:
• Martta Jämsä - flute, piccolo and alto flute
• Vivian Neff - clarinet and bass clarinet
• Olli-Pekka Tuomisalo - saxophones
• Tuomo Lassila - percussion
• Fanny Söderström - piano and keyboards
• Maria Puusaari - 1-violin (concertmaster)
• Aleksi Kotila - 2-viulin
• Maarit Holkko - viola
• Pinja Nuñez - cello
• Vilhelm Karlsson - double bass