Oulu City Theatre’s and Oulu Sinfonia’s European Capital of Culture programme will feature world premiere of the Sámi opera Ovllá, which is part of the Oulu2026 cultural programme and cultural climate change.
On 16 January 2026, Sámi opera Ovllá, written by Sámi playwright Juho-Sire/Siri Broch Johansen, will premiere on the main stage of Oulu City Theatre, composed by Cecilia Damström and directed by Oulu City Theatre’s Director Heta Haanperä. Oulu Sinfonia will be serving as the orchestra for the opera, directed by its Chief Conductor Rumon Gamba.
Ovllá is an opera about the disappearance of truth and about profound loneliness. It tells the story of having one’s roots and cultural heritage torn apart. When a child is separated from their parents and forced into a boarding school, they encounter an unfamiliar language and culture. This experience leads to the trauma of abandonment and isolation. What was once familiar becomes foreign, and the child grows up ashamed of their identity. This sense of alienation forms an identity that offers no peace.
The production brings to the Main stage of Oulu City Theatre the perspective of the Sámi, the only indigenous people of the Nordic countries, and the painful consequences of state-led oppression that continue to affect new generations of Sámi.
“Old operas often take a very patriarchal world view, seeing the world through a colonialist lens. For this reason, I wanted the brand new opera we commissioned for the 2026 programme to be created from a minority perspective. Johansen’s libretto is an a magnificent, deep, even contradictory story about the life of main character Ovllá, and all of its events are either true or could have taken place” says Alma Lehmuskallio, artistic director of Oulu City Theatre.
“My wish is to contribute to a work of art that highlights hidden aspects of the Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and Russian states’ colonizing behavior towards the Sami people. I also want to highlight the Sami view of the land – Ovlá lives his life on both the Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian side of Sápmi, as many Sami have done and do still. For us, Sápmi is our landscape, and we do not see national borders as very relevant”, says Juho-Sire/Siri Broch Johansen.
The piece is being composed by Finnish composer Cecilia Damström with consultation from Sámi composer Ánndaris/Anders Rimpi.
“Working in collaboration with Oulu Sinfonia, we chose Cecilia Damström to compose the music for the opera, because of her ability and will to comment on societal topics with her compositions, as well as the sense of dramaturgy and an open-minded attitude towards the multilingualism of works,” explains Lehmuskallio.
The music evokes grand and flowing sonic landscapes deeply rooted in Sámi nature. However, beneath the beauty lies a stark narrative of struggle: colonial powers like Finland, have stripped the Indigenous Sámi peoples of their harmonious coexistence with nature, seeking to replace it with industrialisation and institutionalisation. This is reflected in the music, where the natural flow is juxtaposed with rhythm, order, and rigidity. Amid this orchestral dialogue, the authentic voices of Sámi joikers emerge, embodying the resilience of individuals reclaiming an identity stolen from them in childhood.
The composer, Cecilia Damström, will write the music in close collaboration with Sámi musicians, who will compose all the joiks we hear in the opera. Their joiks will be an integral part of the musical composition to honor their heritage and integrate their voices into a shared musical expression.
The production features Sámi artists as guest designers: Geir Tore Holm as set designer, Helmi Hagelin as costume designer, and Øystein Heitmann as lighting designer. The sound design is by Jari Niemi from Oulu City Theatre. Emil Kárlsen will be taking on the lead role.
At the heart of the opera is the sharing of knowledge and taking responsibility for state-led injustices, as well as highlighting the experiences of the Sámi people. While the work critically examines societal structures and discrimination, it also gently focuses on the individual.
The aim is to broaden understanding of whose stories belong on Finland’s main stages, to enable audiences of a Sámi background to see themselves on stage and to make visible to the general public the history and current situation of our national minority.
“I am aware that we are operating what is in a sensitive area in this day and age, an area where it is asked, and rightfully so, who has the right to tell whose stories. As representatives of the group who make up the majority of the population, we do not have ownership of Sámi stories, so it was self-evident that the work should be created in sensitive and open cooperation with Sámi artists. We may make mistakes on the way, but fear of this must not prevent different perspectives from taking up space on theatre stages,” emphasises Lehmuskallio.
The opera is being created in cooperation with Oulu City Theatre, the Sami National Theatre Beaivváš and Oulu2026.
Oulu is the European Capital of Culture for the year 2026. Ovllá is part of the Oulu2026 cultural programme and cultural climate change.
Ovllá
Premiere: 16 January 2026
Location: Main stage
Tickets:
Category A 93 € / 88 €/ 79 €
Category B 88 € / 83 € / 75 €
Category C 83 € / 78 € / 71 €
Tickets go on sale 15 January.
Performance languages: Northern Sami, Finnish
Subtitles: Finnish, Northern Sami, English
Music: Cecilia Damström
Libretto: Juho-Sire/Siri Broch Johansen
Direction: Heta Haanperä
Conductor: Rumon Gamba
Orchestra: Oulu Sinfonia
Set design: Geir Tore Holm
Costume design: Helmi Hagelin
Sound design: Jari Niemi
Light design: Øystein Heitmann
Music consultant: Ánndaris/Anders Rimpi
Libretto consultant: Oda Radoor
Lead role: Emil Kárlsen