''The Doomsday Prophets'' (Swedish: ''Domedagsprofeterna'') is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger Olof Wilhelm Peterson-Berger ( 27 February 1867, Ullånger — 3 December 1942, Östersund) was a Swedish composer and music critic. As a composer, his main musical influences were Grieg, August Söderman and Wagner as well as Swedish folk id ...

, to his own

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

libretto, composed from 1912–17. It was first performed at the Royal Opera, Stockholm on 21 February 1919.

Background

Based on a story which the composer found in the journal ''Den svenska Mercurius'' (1759), the opera features several historical characters (Bure, Skytte, Queen Kristina), and is set in the university city of Uppsala just before the end of the

Thirty Years’ War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

in which Sweden became a major European power. The war increased people's worries about the end of the world and two academics claim to have calculated when

Doomsday Doomsday may refer to: * Eschatology, a time period described in the eschatological writings in Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios of non-Abrahamic religions. * Global catastrophic risk, a hypothetical event explored in science and fict ...

will take place. The opera's composition was completed during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.
The first performance was conducted by

Armas Järnefelt Edvard Armas Järnefelt (14 August 1869 – 23 June 1958), was a Finnish conductor and composer, who achieved some minor success with his orchestral works ''Berceuse'' and ''Praeludium''. He spent much of his conducting career at the Royal Sw ...

Roles

*Captain Lennart Sporre *Elin, daughter of Klas Mugg *Lars Bryngelsson, student, sweetheart of Elin *Klas Mugg, Elin's father *Östen, brother of Lars * Johan Bure, professor *Simon Wolimhaus, apothecary *Rector Magnificus * Queen Kristina of Sweden * Bengt Skytte, a noble, governor of Uppsala *Fru Kerstin *Görvel Mårdh, Captain Sporre's beloved * Johan Papegoja *Brita, aunt of Elin *Emerentia, daughter of Brita *Måns Korck, noble student *Johan Stjernadler, noble student *Göran Sperling, noble student *Arvid Ribbing, noble student *Professors, students

Synopsis

*Act 1 The Muggen Inn in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...

on 27 May 1647. Due to a wager between the

university don A don is a fellow or tutor of a college or university, especially traditional collegiate universities such as Oxford and Cambridge in England and Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. The usage is also found in Canada. Like the term don used for Ro ...

Johan Bure and Queen Kristina's

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

Simon Wolimhaus, as to when the world will end (which the professor seems to be fated to lose), the innkeeper, Klas Mugg, and his daughter, Elin, look set to lose their home. Elin is in love with the studious but poor Lars, who is bullied by the ‘nobler’ students. (Lars's aunt is also trying to match him with her own daughter.) Lars gets arrested for threatening his tormentors with Johan Papegoja's pistol and is arraigned in front of a university tribunal, which could result in him being expelled.
*Act 2 Outside

Uppsala cathedral Uppsala Cathedral ( sv, Uppsala domkyrka) is a cathedral located between the University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in the Lutheran t ...

. With Lars afraid for his future and marriage to Elin, army captain Lennart Sporre convinces Klas to let Elin marry Lars, in return for upsetting the wager, which he does by setting fire to Wolimhaus’ dog kennel (this invalidates the terms of the wager as the fire devalues the latter's effects) under cover of a thunderstorm. He argues with the university officials that passing judgment on Lars when the end of the world is nigh is pointless. They ignore this and proceed to condemn Lars, but when the fire is discovered, he escapes during the tumult.
*Act 3 On

Uppsala Castle Uppsala Castle ( sv, Uppsala slott) is a 16th-century royal castle in the city of Uppsala, Sweden. Throughout much of its early existence, the castle played a major role in the history of Sweden. Originally constructed in 1549, the castle has bee ...

Hill. Lars is now in despair, wondering whether he should enlist in the army or emigrate. Sporre and the noble students sing a serenade to Görvel and city musicians assemble in the castle tower to welcome the queen. Sporre explains that the wager is no longer valid as the value of the properties has changed because of the fire (as he planned). As the brass blare out, Wolimhaus believes the Doomsday has arrived, but it is the Queen's arrival and acclaim from the crowd. Lars is pardoned, is able to marry Elin and Sporre gets his beloved Görvel. The two prophets are left confounded.From notes to the Sterling CD of excerpts from 1984 Swedish Radio performance conducted by Ulf Söderblom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doomsday Prophets, The Operas 1919 operas Swedish-language operas Operas set in Sweden Cultural depictions of Christina, Queen of Sweden