#malena ernman

[eurovision-facts]

Greta Thunberg is the daughter of Malena Ernman, who represented Sweden in 2009

Eurovision Fact #242:

2009 Swedish representative Malena Ernman knows extreme fame in the opera world. She has performed all over the world in places like Vienna, Amsterdam, and Tokyo.

Ernman stated in 2009 that she and her family always watch Eurovision, and gather around a computer wherever in the world they are to watch it because it makes her feel like she's back home in Sweden.

Malena is also the mother of climate activist Greta Thunberg.

[Sources]

Participants of Moscow 2009: Malena Ernman, Eurovision.tv.

'Malena Ernman on daughter Greta Thunberg: ‘She was slowly disappearing into some kind of darkness’,' theguardian.com.

[prestidigipigeon]

a little screenshot study from my favorite rendition of Dido's Lament from Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas.

[deepdrearn]

Been thinking about this a lot today

[amandabe11man]

when sweden did the legendary move of sending greta thunberg’s mom, an opera singer, to eurovision:

i was too narrow-minded to appreciate the song back then, but now it gives me chills fr

[gaymer-hag-stan]

This information will never not surprise me 😂

So Greta Thunberg's mom participated in Eurovision 2009?

[huariqueje]

More than 1,000 Swedish artists have signed an open letter against Israel's participation in the music competition, including famed international acts like Fever Ray and Robyn, and contest veterans such as opera star Malena Ernman — who performed in the song competition in 2009 and is the mother of climate activist Greta Thunberg.

[whats-another-song-contest]

In a statement published the same week as the first Melodifestivalen semi-final, more than 1000 Swedish artists ask the EBU to exclude Israel from this year's Eurovision Song Contest, including 2 acts participating in this year's edition of melfest: Jacqline, and both members of Medina. Also among the signatures are former melfest participants Johan Hirvi (Panetoz) and Alvaro Estrella, as well as former winners Eric Saade and Malena Ernman.

Some other notable signatures belong to Robyn, First Aid Kit, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Petra Marklund (also known as September), The Wannadies, Thomas Stenström, Miriam Bryant, Sabina Ddumba, Daniel Adams-Ray, Timbuktu, Kaliffa and many others whose names I recognise but I'm too unfamiliar with the contemporary music scene to know their work.

Below is my translation of some parts of their statement, as well as sources:

Note: The bold parts are also bold in the original statement. I have tried to use the same terminology as the statement, but I'm no expert, so be aware that there can be some mistakes.

The first link includes the full statement in Swedish as well as a list of all the signatures:

[...] What is happening in Gaza is a humanitarian disaster and the International Court of Justice in The Hague has recently decided to continue the case where Israel is accused of crimes against the Genocide Convention. Despite this the European radio- and TV-union the EBU intends to allow Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. The EBU grounds its position on Eurovision being a competition between public service companies rather than states. But in 2022 the EBU chose to exclude Russia by reason of the invasion of Ukraine, and in 2021 the participating broadcaster from Belarus was denied participation because the country broke the EBU's rules for the freedom of the press. In barely four months about 100 Palestinian journalists have been killed, and foreign press has been denied access to Gaza. It is one of the greatest attacks on journalistic freedom in modern times. We are of the opinion that the EBU by allowing Israel's participation displays a remarkable double-standard that undermines the credibility of the organisation. [...] We expect both the EBU and this year's host broadcaster SVT to be consistent in their approach towards participating countries that infringe on democratic values and human rights.

[...] We who sign this are 1000 artists who believe in music as a unifying force. The Eurovision Song Contest began as a peace project to unite countries and citizens through music. To allow Israel's participation undermines not just the competition's spiritual intent but the entire public service mission. It also sends the signal that governments can commit war crimes without facing consequences. That is why we ask the EBU: Exclude Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.

[starlene]

Så som i himmelen proshot thoughts

Just some quick-ish notes on the cast and direction to sorta process watching the proshot for the first time!

Philip Jalmelid as Daniel: I've gone on record saying that acting-wise, he's not my favourite Daniel, but he really has a voice like no one else, and I really do appreciate him for that. He was also the first Daniel I saw, and he made me cry literally every time he opened his mouth to sing. You don't forget an experience like that. He's still no number one favourite of mine, but I have grown very fond of his portrayal of the character, and I especially enjoyed his first act on the proshot. I love Daniel Daréus so, so much!

Tuva B. Larsen as Lena: I enjoyed seeing all the closeups of her – there is really a lot going on under the surface in her Lena, more than I think I saw/understood live in theatre. With that said, I think the creative team has done the character of Lena a big disservice by not giving her a proper introspective/I want solo (like. How come Stig gets two but the female lead gets none?), so she always remains a bit of a mystery, no matter how talented the actor is. But I do like Tuva's portrayal. I just wish there was a bit more substantial stuff for her to perform!

Malena Ernman as Gabriella: potentially an unpopular opinion, but she's my absolute #1 musical Gabriella and I adore her. You can see that there's a tremendous capacity for joy inside this Gabriella, a bright spark that she has to suppress because of Conny. I can 100% see where the actors who make Gabriella meeker and more shy are coming from, but for me, Malena's Gabriella is where it's at.

Björn Kjellman as Arne: I mean, he's fine. It's just that Morgan Alling was so, so, so much better in the role.

Anders Ekborg as Stig: the only actor I've seen that I feel really gets this insane character... as much as you can get him, anyway. I have no idea why the musical spends so much time on Stig's marital troubles, nor why the thought of marital sex makes this Lutheran priest turn into an ultra-repressed Catholic monk, but Anders almost sells it to me. He has a voice like no one else, too. The red shirt in Stig's final scene is a piece of costume design I really, really like.

Sofia Pekkari as Inger: she's good, I don't really have further notes.

Rikard Björk as Tore: he's really good and has clearly done his research, but I gotta say, I think this is a role that truly benefits from having an actually disabled actor do it. I suppose it might not have been viable in the original production where they have to do a lot of cognitively very taxing workshopping and last-minute changes – but I'm so glad they cast the brilliant Jaakko Lahtinen as Tore in Helsinki. Jaakko's portrayal was so refreshingly honest and genuine, I don't really think any non-disabled actor can give the role that. That being said, Rikard also did a great job editing the proshot, he's clearly something of a renaissance man with all his talents!

Linus Eklund Adolphson as Holmfrid: love love love. Brilliant. Best Holmfrid I've ever seen by a mile. The bit in the beginning of the 2nd act where he mimes getting a kiss from the audience and putting it in his pocket? One of my favourite details in this entire show.

Christopher Wollter as Conny: hands down the best Conny I've seen, with the perfect mix of scary and incredibly insecure. Way too many actors just lean into the scary vibes. (Also the best Daniel in the original cast, but that's besides the point of this post.)

Annica Edstam as Florence: babygirl. The other half of my Gabriella/Florence otp that I know will come true one day. Love.

I know there are more named characters but these are the ones I feel the most strongly about!

Direction by Markus Virta: I've seen other productions do certain scenes better, but as a whole, I really do appreciate the simplicity and straightforwardness of Virta's direction. He lets the songs and the characters stand on their own, which I think is a good way to go – elaborate choreography/blocking and extra whatever can and has been nice, but this is not the sort of musical where you really need that. On the proshot, Virta's direction loses me during the last ten minutes, like it always has (we absolutely do not need to see Daniel's soul embracing his child self, not when absolutely nothing in the previous two hours has indicated we're dealing with a world where tangible afterlife visions like that are a thing) – but other than that, fantastic work, no notes.

Random notes:

I like how subtle Lena's "grandpa must go paint another angel on the wall" thing is here. I've written in length before how much I dislike the instant pregnancy thing – but I dislike it less here, where it's not a huge joyful declaration of pregnancy like in some other productions but a little unsure line that's left to the audience's interpretation. It's unclear if Daniel really gets what she means, and I'm also free to imagine she's really having her ex's child or whatever.

Am I losing it, or was there a short reprise bit of Den tid jag har in the last scene early in the run that wasn't included in the proshot anymore? I thought the last scene felt a little less overwrought and cringy than before, somehow.

Did anyone else watch the proshot yet? What did you think?

[kierrasreads]

Our House Is on Fire: Scenes of a Family and a Planet in Crisis by Greta Thunberg, Svante Thunberg, Malena Ernman, and Beata Ernman

Plot

When climate activist Greta Thunberg was eleven, her parents Malena and Svante, and her little sister Beata, were facing a crisis in their own home. Greta had stopped eating and speaking, and her mother and father had reconfigured their lives to care for her. Desperate and searching for answers, her parents discovered what was at the heart of Greta's distress: her imperiled future on a rapidly heating planet. Steered by Greta's determination to understand the truth and generate change, they began to see the deep connections between their own suffering and the planet's.

Written by a remarkable family and told through the voice of an iconoclastic mother, Our House Is on Fire is the story of how they fought their problems at home by taking global action. And it is the story of how Greta decided to go on strike from school, igniting a worldwide rebellion.

Discussion

This was an interesting read! I chose this book at random in the library. I know that Greta is a fundamental climate activist, and I remember seeing her everywhere in the media. This book gave me a glimpse into her life, and she makes some great points.

Writing wise, I like that the chapters were short and had unique titles.

Rating

4/5

[gluecookie]

Interest check for Opera stream!

Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, recording with Malena Ernman from Opéra Comique 2008. Same as Fairy Queen, the opera is entirely in english so no subs. It's short about 1 hour runtime.

[famousinuniverse]

Greta Thunberg

Swedish activist

Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. Thunberg's climate activism began when she persuaded her parents to adopt lifestyle choices that reduced her family's carbon footprint. 

Born: January 3, 2003, Stockholm, Sweden

Parents: Svante Thunberg, Malena Ernman

Siblings: Beata Thunberg

Height: 1.49 m

Awards: Full list

Movement: School Strike for Climate

Greta dunked on #SmallDickEnergy.

[athemag]

interviews of Peter Mattei on french sites, including, as usual, some ramblings daring comparisons: Don G and Martin Luther King (2007), interpretation of Don G and caramel cream (2012)... 2006 - Liberation https://www.liberation.fr/culture/2006/12/22/mattei-joue-le-crooner-avec-von-otter_60917/?redirected=1 2007 - Altamusica http://www.altamusica.com/entretiens/document.php?action=MoreDocument&DocRef=3318&DossierRef=2957 2012 - Concertclassic https://www.concertclassic.com/article/une-interview-de-peter-mattei-baryton-jaurai-vraiment-du-mal-quitter-cette-production 2012 - Forumopera - 20 singers (including Peter Mattei) talk about Dietrich Fischer Dieskau https://www.forumopera.com/vingt-regards-sur-dietrich-fischer-dieskau/ 2019 - le blog de camille de rijck https://camillederijck.com/2022/03/12/one-quote-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away-xv-peter-mattei-why-not-include-a-little-bit-of-elvis-in-classical-music/

an interesting interview of Malena Ernman in 2002 - with a short paragraph about Peter Mattei https://www.forumopera.com/v1/actu/malena.htm Opera National de Paris - 2017 Eugen Onegin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsX_W0hv5XQ&t=5s From the house of the dead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny-egLJUxWI

[deepdrearn]

Thunberg, G., Thunberg, S., Ernman, M., & Ernman, B. (2020). Our house is on fire: Scenes of a family and a planet in crisis. Penguin.

[hicemusic]

hicemusic Live Show: Sendung 27 - Playlist

hicemusic Live Show: Sendung 27 – Playlist hicemusic Live Show Inhalt der 26.Sendung: “Endlisch normaaale Musik!”: Welche Alben nehmt Ihr mit auf die berühmte einsame Insel? Playlist: Air – La Femme D’argent Malena Ernman & Så Som I Himmelen Ensemblen- Gabriellas Sång Bright Eyes – First Day Of My Life Vampire Weekend – Harmony Hall Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill (A Deal With…

[korrektheiten]

Mutter Thunberg fordert Israel-Boykott beim ESC

Tichy:»Wie die Tochter so die Mutter: Malena Ernman hat sich einem Boykottaufruf gegen Israel angeschlossen. Sie kennen die schwedische Opernsängerin nicht? Dann aber sicher deren Nachwuchs: Greta Thunberg. Auch die Klimaikone fällt seit Monaten durch ihr israelfeindliches Engagement auf. Vergangene Woche hatte sie an einer „Palästina“-Demonstration in Leipzig teilgenommen und Israel erneut „Völkermord“ vorgeworfen. Ich Der Beitrag Mutter Thunberg fordert Israel-Boykott beim ESC erschien zuerst auf Tichys Einblick. http://dlvr.it/T26kZ5 «