A young pastor and his family settle on a remote Finnish island. Life is wonderful by the glistening sea, but winter is coming and the newcomers know nothing of its perils. Ulla-Lena Lundberg’s Ice was awarded the 2012 Finlandia prize and has become the most cherished Finnish novel of the decade. It has attracted much interest from theatres, but the Finnish National Opera is the first to get permission to adapt it for the stage. Juhani Koivisto’s libretto follows the key events and characters of the novel, with music by Jaakko Kuusisto that rings with the changing seasons and the ever-present threat of ice.

Finland may be the happiest country on earth, but it is also known as the land of a thousand sad songs. Lurking in the shadows of this Nordic welfare state are violence, alcoholism and inequality. A century after its premiere, the most Finnish of all operas is now being performed in a new production at the Helsinki Opera House.