Search - Merikanto, Saraste, Finnish Radio :: Juha

If you like Puccini or Debussy, you'll love this warmly Romantic opera by Merikanto. He composed it in the 1920s, but it was several decades before it was performed owing to the composer's perceived musical "radicalism." Well, there's nothing radical about it now. It's actually pretty gorgeous. The story is a classic love triangle--an older man with a young wife sees her fall for a handsome drifter with predictably tragic results. Finnish opera is one of the most artistically vital and satisfying currents in modern music. As this recording amply demonstrates, it has any number of excellent, well-trained voices that would grace any operatic stage. More than a curiosity, this opera deserves the widest currency. --David Hurwitz