Letters – Olga Knipper, Anton Chekhov, and 857 love letters

On stage: Elina Mustonen

Screenplay and direction: Johanna Freundlich

Composition and sound recording: Olli Mustonen

SINETTI – Olga Knipper, Anton Chekhov, and 857 love letters It's a mélange of love, longing, and glimmers of hope. The performance was inspired by the extensive correspondence between the legendary playwright Anton Chekhov and his wife, actress Olga Knipper, in the late 19th century. Despite their passionate love, circumstances separated the couple: while Olga's career took off in Moscow, Anton managed his worsening health in Yalta. After Anton's premature death, Olga continued her life for over 50 more years, never remarrying. The couple left behind over 800 letters, which bring their story to life on stage.

The performance brings together a trio consisting of actor-pianist Elina Mustonen, pianist-composer Olli Mustonen and director-dramaturg Johanna Freundlich. The piano music in the work will be heard from Olli Mustonen's studio recording, as well as live music performed by Elina Mustonen – at times combining these two performances! All the music heard in the performance has been composed by Olli Mustonen specifically for this performance. This promises to be a unique performance, where spoken word and music from different sources play with each other.