News
Oktober 2023
The first performances ever in Finland of Joseph Martin Kraus´ (1756-1792) opera "Proserpin" will take place on October 13 & 14 at the Vasa Baroque festival with an international cast of soloists and the Vasa City Orchestra.
Aapo Häkkinen will conduct. Erik Söderblom will direct the semi-staged performance.
The performances take place in the in the banquet venue. of the Vasa City Hall.
October 2022
Erik Söderblom will teach opera directing at Uniarts Helsinki in a pilot project in the academic year 2022-2023
June 2022
As a tribute to his teacher for opera directing, August Everding, Erik Söderblom will take on the revival and upgrading of Mr Everding’s legendary production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. The original production was premiered in 1973 - 50 years ago! Erik, then a curious teenager, followed the rehearsals and the work of the director with great admiration; this very performance was crucial for Erik’s later choice of profession. Another reason for Erik’s curiosity was that it was conducted by his father, Ulf Söderblom.
The premiere of the revival will take place on July 4 2023 with a top cast conducted by Sakari Oramo.
February 2022
The score for the “Karvalakkiooppera” (The Fur Cap Opera) by composer Tapio Tuomela is finalised. The opera tells the stories of the people who lost the livelihood with the damming of the Kemi river in the 1950s and follows the subsequent political uproar. The world premiere of this opera, directed by Erik Söderblom, will take place in Rovaniemi in September 2022 followed by a series of performances at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki. John Storgårds will conduct.
January 2022
The premiere of W.A.Mozart´s Cosi fan Tutte that would have taken place on January 13 at the Vaasa Opera, was canceled due to the lockdown. The ready production is now under risk to be buried without ever having been shown to the audience.
September 2021
The production of The Golden Calf by Maria Jotuni, a collaboration between the National Theatre of Finland and Espoo City Theatre, had its successful premiere. It will be shown in the premises of Espoo City Theatre until late November, unfortunately, due to the pandemic, only for a reduced audience.
August 2021
The production of Ludwig van Beethoven´s Fidelio, a collaboration between the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Espoo City Theatre, the Organ Night & Aria Festival was premiered to great acclaim. Due to the pandemic the amount of audience allowed was unfortunately reduced to 140 for each performance
May 2021
Due to the corona pandemic the production at the Savonlinna Opera Festival of Karol Szymanowski’s opera Krol Roger will sadly be canceled
January 2021
The premiere of W.A.Mozart´s Cosi fan Tutte will be postponed by one year to January 2022
June 2020
Due to the corona pandemic the production at the Savonlinna Opera Festival of Karol Szymanowski’s opera Krol Roger will be postponed to Juli 2021
May 2020
Due to the corona pandemic the production of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio will be postponed to take place in August 2021
April 2020
In a collaboration between the National Theatre of Finland and Espoo City Theatre Erik Söderblom will direct the satirical comedy The Golden Calf by Maria Jotuni. The premiere will take place in September 21
February 2020
The production at the Savonlinna Opera Festival of Karol Szymanowski’s opera Krol Roger will be directed by Erik Söderblom. It will be the first production of this opera ever in Finland. Ville Matvejeff the new Artistic Director of the festival, will conduct an international top cast.
June 2019
Erik Söderblom will direct W.A.Mozart´s Cosi fan Tutte with an international top-class ensemble. The premiere will take place in the city of Vaasa in January 2021.
May 2019
In a collaboration between the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Espoo City Theatre, the Organ Night & Aria Festival and the Helsinki Festival Erik Söderblom will direct Ludwig van Beethoven´s Fidelio. The premiere will take place in August 2020 in the Tapiola Hall in Espoo. The role of Rocco will be sung by Matti Salminen. Okko Kamu will conduct.
April 2019
Erik Söderblom will direct the world premiere of Harri Virtanen´s play Turingin testi (The Turing Test) The premiere will take place in February 2020 in the Louhi Hall of Espoo Culture Center. It will be one of the plays of the triple bill produced by the Espoo City Theatre in collaboration with the theatres Rakastajat theatre and the Quo Vadis-ensemble. The production will subsequently go on tour.
March 2019
Erik Söderblom will stage the Finnish premiere of Hector Berlioz´ scenic melodrama Lelio ou le retour à la vie in a production produced by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. The performances will take place in February 2020 in the Helsinki Music Hall.
March 2019
Extra performances of FLASH FLASH – the two deaths of Andy Warhol will take place in May 2019 at the Espoo City Theatre. The opera will be live broadcasted by YLE (The National Broadcasting Company) on May 11, and will after that be visible for an international audience on https://areena.yle.fi/1-50116344
March 2019
The History of Finland premiered successfully at the Espoo City Theatre. The performance will run until the end of April 2019.
March 2019
Erik Söderblom will direct the production of James MacMillan´s The Seven Last Words from the Cross. The premiere will take place in March 2020. The choir parts will be sung by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Tapiola Sinfonietta will be conducted by Kaspars Putnins.
February 2019
The television series the Activists, based on the script written by Erik Söderblom will be shown by YLE (The National Broadcasting Company) Company starting from February 3. The series, directed by Lauri Maijala, is a co-production between Helsinki-filmi, YLE (The National Broadcasting Company) and MiklagardArts.
February 2019
The world premiere of Juhani Nuorvala´s and Juha SIltanen´s opera FLASH FLASH – the two deaths of Andy Warhol will take place on February 8 as a part of the programme of Musica Nova Helsinki. The lead role will be sung by David Hackston; Nils Schweckendiek will conduct.
December 2019
Erik Söderblom will act as an invited expert for the architectural competition for the renovation of Espoo Cultural Center.
November 2018
Erik Söderblom directs The History of Finland, based on Petri Tamminen´s book. The performance will be “an installation in four voices”. Hanna Brotherus will create the choreography, the saxophonist Esa Pietilä will talk care of the music and Teemu Nurmelin will design the light and videos. The premiere will take place in March 2019 at Espoo City Theatre.
October 2018
Eino-Juhani Rautavaara´s and James Broughton´s scenic oratorio the True and False Unicorn is premiered with great acclaim during the Music Festival of Kauniainen. The Key Ensemble was singing; the Tapiola Sinfonietta was conducted by Jan Söderblom.
August 2018
Erik Söderblom will direct the long-awaited world premiere of Juhani Nuorvala's and Juha Siltanen's opera FLASH FLASH. The opera, telling about the death of Andy Warhol will be premiered during the Musica Nova Helsinki Festival in February 2019 and will after that be shown in Espoo City Theatre.
Erik Söderblom will give a seminar and a workshop for the conductors´ class at the Sibelius Academy. The theme of the seminar will be the conscious use of mental images in music performance. The seminar takes place in November 2018.
May 2018
Erik Söderblom will direct a staged performance of Eino-Juhani Rautavaara’s composition for chamber choir and orchestra, the True and False Unicorn to poems by James Broughton. The performance will a part of the programme of the Kauniainen Music Festival. https://www.kauniaistenmusiikkijuhlat.fi/en/home/
February 2018
Erik Söderblom has been named a "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by France. The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is conferred on persons who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in the field of art, culture and literature or for their contribution to the influence of the arts in France and throughout the world.
February 2018
Erik Söderblom creates the concept for the semi-staged performance of Leopold Kozeluch´s long-forgotten opera Gustav Wasa. The performance will take place in the Music Center in Helsinki. Aapo Häkkinen conducts the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra. Ville Sandqvist directs, Emil and Artur Sallinen create the videos.
May 2017
From August 2017 Erik Söderblom will be the Artistic Director of Espoo City Theatre. Espoo, a part of the metropole area, is the second-largest city of Finland. The theatre produces performances of its own but also invites productions from Finland and from abroad. https://espoonteatteri.fi/en/
February 2017
Erik Söderblom directs Carmen. The premiere will take place in December 2017 in Jyväskylä. Ville Matvejeff conducts. The role of Carmen will be sung by the Croatian soprano Ivana Srbljan. Don José will be sung by Sam Furness. Waltteri Torikka will appear as Escamillo. https://jyvaskylanooppera.fi/
February 2017
The Horseman by Aulis Sallinen, a Finnish modern opera classic, will be premiered in Pori in November 2017. The lead role will be sung by the rising bass star Tapani Plathan. Erik Söderblom directs. http://www.porinooppera.fi/
January 2017
Erik Söderblom will create a stage version of J. S. Bach´s St. Matthews Passion. The performance will take place on 14.4. 2017 in Elenia Arena, Hämeenlinna in collaboration with Chamber choir Vox Cantorum, Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra. Conductor is Heikki Seppänen. http://fibo.fi/en/concerts/
December 2016
Erik Söderblom will direct the Finnish classic play Daniel Hjort for Åbo Svenska Teater, the Swedish-speaking theatre of Turku. The production will make use of the newest virtual reality technology. Premiere in autumn 2017. http://www.abosvenskateater.fi/sv/start/
November 2016
Erik Söderblom has been appointed a Member of the Artistic Committee of Tampere Theatre Festival, the biggest performing arts festival in Finland. From August 2017 he will be in charge of the program of the festival together with the other curators Milja Sarkola and Miko Jaakkola, http://tampereenteatterikesa.fi
November 2016
Erik Söderblom leads a Masters-course for opera acting at Stockholm Opera Academy, Sweden. http://www.uniarts.se/english
September 2016 – 2018
Together with Cirko, Maracat Caravan and FeverChina Erik Söderblom through MiklagardArts initiates CircusBridge. Over the next three years, we will take Finnish circus companies, performances and creative know-how to China, arrange meeting points for Finnish and Chinese circus artists and create the first Finnish-Chinese circus performance which will premiere in 2018. http://www.circusbridge.fi/
September 2016
Opera meets hi-tech. Erik Söderblom will direct the experimental production of Joseph Haydn´s science fiction opera Il Mondo della Luna where for the first time advanced motion capture technologies are used for artistic purposes. The premiere will take place in Tampere on September 30 2016. More news to come.’
September 2016
Erik Söderblom will collaborate with Teater Sirius for a production of Roland Schimmelpfennig´s play Den Gyllene draken – The Golden Dragon. The premiere will take place on September 10, 2016, in Helsinki. More news to come.
June 2016
Erik Söderblom has been elected a member of the European House for Culture.
http://www.houseforculture.eu/page/2/the-european-house
May 2016
The project Ny Musikteater – New Music Theatre - of the Novia University of Applied Sciences will soon be launched. The project aims to create sustainable production processes for new music theatre, and provides a platform for young composers, writers and stage artists to explore the endless possibilities of this fast-developing “genre-free genre” of scenic art.
Erik Söderblom was appointed the artistic leader of the showcase festival of the project that took place in the Finnish city of Jakobstad/Pietarsaari on May 20 and 22 2016. There will be a following-up of the project with a showcase festival in Helsinki in autumn 2016.
May 2016
The city of Helsinki will create a weekend of Finnish culture on the Xidan-square in Beijing. The Moi Helsinki event will bring together some extraordinary interesting Finnish artists for a three-day performance and installation marathon on May 13-15 2016. The accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen, the dancers Minna Tervamäki, Tero Saarinen and Ima Iduozee, the singer Ronya, the Humppavanti Orchestra, the Finnish-Chinese Beijing opera company Wusheng, the Club for Five ensemble, the installation artist Kaisa Salmi and many more will come together for this extraordinary outdoor festival in the centre of Beijing. Erik Söderblom is a member of the curating team and is responsible for the dramaturgy of the event. http://www.moihelsinki.cn/en