Music: Benny Andersson
Text: Björn Ulvaeus
Director: Lars Rudolfsson
Orchestrations & arrangements: Anders Eljas
Principals: Helen Sjöholm (Kristina), Anders Ekborg (Karl Oskar), Åsa Bergh
(Ulrika), Peter Jöback (Robert), Fina-Kajsa (Marianne Mörck)
Based on 'Utvandrarna' ('The Emigrants') by Vilhelm Moberg.
By the time Benny and Björn sat down to write 'Kristina', they had already
had a taste of what musical theatre was all about and indeed, what it in some
ways wasn't about, in the form of their musical written with Sir Tim Rice,
namely CHESS.
Kristina från Duvemåla logo
Although CHESS was acclaimed by some, mostly for its breathtaking score, the
show itself refused to become the worldwide hit that had been proclaimed a
distinct possibility before it opened. Certain strides were taken to ensure that
'Kristina' didn't fall foul of the same criticisms i.e. that the story was
convoluted and muddled and the characters not likeable or identifiable enough.
Plus as Björn puts it, in his own words, "We wanted to base it on something that
was real".
So, he and Benny turned to Vilhelm Moberg's classic series of dramatic
Swedish novels 'Utvandrarna' ('The Emigrants'). A masterpiece on show Bringing
such a mammoth series of novels to the stage was a long and sometimes tortuous
affair and the writing of it took considerably longer than CHESS.
Nevertheless, eventually 'Kristina från Duvemåla' emerged to a waiting world and
premiered in Malmö, Sweden on October 7th, 1995.
Malmö, Göteborg and Stockholm
Critics immediately and unanimously proclaimed the show 'a masterpiece' -
although some did display reservations about the extraordinary length of the
show (coming in at not much under 4 hours).
This incredibly positive reaction came as something of a relief to Björn who,
just in case the critics were savage, had booked himself a flight out of the
country on the morning after the premiere but didn't need to take it. 'Kristina'
as it has become known, transferred from Malmö to Göteborg on the 13th April
1996 and from there, headed to a specially enlarged
Cirkus (Theatre) in Stockholm. The
musical opened in Stockholm on February 14th 1998 and finally closed there on
June 19th 1999. In all, it is reported than in a country of just over 9 million
inhabitants, more than 1 million saw Kristina during it's performances in Malmö,
Göteborg and Stockholm.
1996 Minnesota concerts
During some 'off-air' time during the Swedish run (when the show was changing
cities), Kristina was presented in concert form in Minnesota to gauge the
reaction of Americans to the musical, particularly one would assume from the
location of the concerts, Swedish Americans! On October 12th and 13th
1996, the
Orchestra
Hall, Minneapolis, and the
Chisago Lakes High School, Lindstrom played host to the original performers,
a large orchestra, Benny and Björn and a TV crew from Sweden. Minneapolis
Star Tribune: On witnessing the Minnesota concerts, this is what a reviewer from
local newspaper the Star Tribune had to say: "I have seen the future of music
theater and its name is 'Kristina'...an engaging, emotionally charged - and at
times haunting - piece of work...a seamless web of Swedish folk music, rock
idioms and classical resonances ...mature and theaterwise."
Swedish Concert Tour
Following the end of the Stockholm run, a concert tour in 2001 was
organsied, featuring all the original principals and taking in the following
Swedish venues: Evedal, Växjö, 6th June Sofiero Slott, Helsingborg, 8th June
Mölleplatsen, Malmö, 9th June Trädgårdsföreningen, Göteborg, 10th June
Trädgårdsföreningen, Göteborg, 11th June Slottet, Finspång, 13th June Stockholm
Stadion, Stockholm, 14th June Sammilsdal, Leksand, 16th June Merlo Slott,
Sundsvall, 17th June
America 2006/2007/2008!
Following a 4 week workshop in New York
during March 2006, Kristina seemed as if it was finally Broadway bound.
However, events have somehow turned out rather differently and now instead of an
'out-of-town' tryout at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis planned, the musical
may be performed in concert version in New York during the latter half of 2008.
You can catch up on all the latest twists and turns in the Kristina saga on the
Kristina news
page.
On CD
The CD of the show, when it emerged, was a 3CD Box Set
entitled Kristina från Duvemåla - Den Kompletta Utgåvan which purports to be the
complete score. In fact, there are a few short pieces of incidental music
that are not included. However, to balance things slightly, it should be
noted that there is a song (Kamfer Och Lavendel) on the CD set which was dropped
from later performances of the show. The box set comes with a booklet containing
all the lyrics and quite a few pictures from the original production. In
addition to the 3-CD set is a 'Highlights' package on one CD, called '16
Favoriter' featuring 16 selections from the 3CD Box Set, including the single
release version of 'Guldet blev till sand' which differs slightly from the box
set version.
Songs from the 3CD Set:
CD1:
- Prolog
- Duvemåla Hage
- Min Lust Till Dej
- Ut Mot Ett Hav
- Missväxt
- Nej
- Lilla Skara
- Aldrig Kom Till Mig Alla
- Vi Öppnar Alla Grindar
CD2:
- Bönder På Havet
- Löss
- Stanna
- Begravning Till Sjöss
- Sunday in Battery Park
- Hemma - also released as a single
- Från New York Till Stillwater
- Tänk Att Män Som Han Kan Finnas
- Kamfer Och Lavendel
- Drömmen Om Guld
- Min Astrakan
CD3:
- Överheten
- Ljusa Kvällar Om Våren
- Präriens Drottning - also released as a single
- Vildgräs - also released as a single
- Jag Har Förlikat Mej Till Slut
- Guldet Blev Till Sand - also released as a single
- Wild Cat Money
- Ut Mot Ett Hav
- Vill du Inte Gifta Dej Med Mej
- Ett Herrans Underverk
- Down to the Sacred Wave
- Missfall
- Du Måste Finnas - also released as a single
- Skördfest
- Här Har du Mej Igen
- Red Iron/Hjälp Mej Trösta
- Var Hör Vi Hemma
- I Gott Bevar
The foreword to the story by Vilhelm Moberg
This is a story about some people, whom from their home in Ljuder in Småland,
Sweden, emigrated to North America. They were the first in their district who
emigrated.
They came from the land of small cottages and big families. They were
the people of the soil and they came from families who had for thousands of
years cultivated the land they left. Through all changes the farm stayed as the
home of the family. Everything they needed was taken from the earth. The people
depended on the Lord's weather, which gave them good years and bad years. They
didn't depend on anyone or any other power under the sun. Their lives moved on
slowly as the years went by. And it stayed that way for a long time, through
many generations and centuries.
But in the middle of the 19th century everything was ripped apart. Newly
discovered powers were used, wagons could be driven without horses and ships
could sail without sails. The different parts of the world got
closer to each other. And to new people who knew about the written word came the
news of a free country far away. It stepped forward from the mist of the
fairy-tale and became reality. The new country had land without farmers and
called for farmers without land. It opened itself for those who waited for a
freedom that they did not have in their home districts.
And in every district were there a few men and women who followed the advice
and emigrated to the New World. It was the bravest who moved first over the big
sea. Those who stayed, the sluggish and thoughtful, called them adventurers. The
first emigrants didn't know much about the new country that awaited them. And
how could they know that more than a million people from their home-country
would follow them.
They could not know that a cultivated country, bigger than their old
country, would be the fruit of the mission they began as a dangerous adventure -
under the sky of uncertainty, in "the boldness sign"(a comet in the night sky -
portent of sweeping change and danger for this superstitious folk). The men and
women, that this story is about, have long since left this life.
Some of their names can still be read on old gravestones thousands of miles
from the place where they were born into this world. Their names are forgotten
in their home districts and their adventure shall soon be a part of story and
legend.
