The Ostrobothnians

The Ostrobothnians (in Finnish: Pohjalaisia; occasionally translated to English as The Bothnians), Op. 45, is a verismo opera in three acts written from 1917 to 1924 by the Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja. The story, variously comedic and tragic, takes place around 1850 in the historical Finnish province of Ostrobothnia and features as its central conflict the deteriorating relationship between the farm community and its oppressive sheriff. On 25 October 1924, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra premiered the opera at the Finnish National Opera under the baton of Tauno Hannikainen.