Die Kalewainen in Pochjola

Die Kalewainen in Pochjola: Finnische Mythe in 4 Bildern frei nach dem Finnischen National-Epos Kalewala (German: “The men of Kaleva in the Northland: Finnish myths in four scenes freely from the Finnish national epic Kalevala”) is an 1890 German-Finnish opera in four acts composed by the German Karl Müller-Berghaus (1829–1907) to a libretto by Fritz W. O. Spengler, freely based upon Kalevala.

The score is written for a relatively large orchestra, a chorus and seven lead roles, and there were no practical venues in that time for a full-scale performance.

The première was planned at Hamburg State Opera in 1892 but because of an epidemic of cholera it never realized.

[1] The opera has four acts: The leading roles are Wäinämöinen, Ilmarinen, Achti alias Lemminkäinen, Luonnotar, Louchi, Ismo and a Magician (Zauberer).

When analyzing the score in 1933, the composer Sulho Ranta thought that the libretto was weak and the music was impersonal and derivative.