Pippi LongstockingFrom the Helsinki Opera

Pippilotta Victualia Rollgardina Peppermint Ephraim’s Daughter Longstocking, the superhumanly strong redhead with pigtails and freckles better known to her friends and fans as Pippi, conquers the world of classical ballet. The Swedish dancer and choreographer Pär Isberg stages Astrid Lindgren’s favourite character from the Villa Villekulla for the Helsinki opera house. They’re all there: her pirate father, her friends Tommy and Annika and of course the beloved horse that Pippi likes to lift up in the air as proof of her superhuman strength. Whether it is roller-skating, monkeys on skateboards, dancers flying through the air – anything can happen when Pippi is around.

Pippe Longstocking owes her existence to an accident. In 1944 Astrid Lindgren sprained her ankle and for several weeks was confined to her home. She used the enforced immobility to write down the stories that years previously she had made up for her daughter. The first book in the series was published in 1945 and was such a success that it was translated into seventy languages and sold worldwide. The films and television series of 1969 with Inger Nilsson in the title role did much to popularize it.

Pär Isberg’s choreography works closely with the images and the spirit of the television version. The ballet music was composed by Georg Riedel and Stefan Nilsson. Georg Riedel was one of the three composers who worked on the film and television series. He and Jan Johansson composed Pippi’s famous signature song, “It’s Pippi Longstocking”, among other pieces. Stefan Nilsson is a composer of film music famed for his work on the film adaptations of Håkan Nesser and feature films such as Bille August’s Best Intentions and Pelle the Conqueror.