- update 09/03
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VILPPU KILJUNEN, Stage Director
Vilppu Kiljunen is the most successful opera stage director of the new generation in Finland. He studied musicology, drama and theoretical philosophy at the University of Helsinki, and at the same time studied the violin at the Helsinki Conservatory.
In 1980-82, he danced at the Finnish National Opera Ballet School, but then he developed an interest in mime and went on to study at the Marcel Marceau international school in Paris for two years.
Having returned to Finland, he studied stage directing at the Theatre Academy of Finland, graduating in 1990 with an MA (Drama) degree.
Vilppu Kiljunen initially worked with drama but soon became interested in opera. Having worked as assistant to opera directors such as Tapola, Miko and Holmberg, in 1992 he directed productions of Mozart's “La clemenza di Tito” and Herman Rechberger's “Laurentius”. The following year,
he directed productions of Poulenc's “La voix humaine” at the Savonlinna Opera Festival and Tapio Tuomela's “Korvan tarina” (Story of the ear), an experimental work on the possibilites of conseptual art in opera. “Korvan tarina” was also the first new opera premiere at the Finnish National Opera’s new building in Helsinki.
Vilppu Kiljunen has also been artistic director of the “Pieni Suomi” theatre. He held a lectureship in stage directing at the Theatre Academy of Finland from 1990 to 1993, and has also taught at the Turku Institute of Arts and Media and at the Department of Set Design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki.His recent opera productions include Einojuhani Rautavaara's “Aleksis Kivi” and Gounod's “Faust”, both at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. With “Aleksis Kivi” he visited also at the Opera du Rhin, France and at the Teatro Rendano in Cosenza, Italy. In fall 2001 he directed Puccini’s “La fanciulla del west” at the Finnish National Opera and summer 2002 Peter Handke’s play Kaspar for the Helsinki festival. In his agenda for 2003 he has “Carmen” at the Tampere Opera and the world premier of Einojuhani Rautavaara’s opera “Rasputin” at the Finnish National Opera with Matti Salminen in the title role. In the season 2004-05 he has been invited to direct a new production at the Leipzig Opera.
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