Alice Ripley and Ramin Karimloo to Lead KALEVALA Concept Album

The team behind Kalevala: The Musical team has announced the cast for their upcoming concept album to be released in August 2021.

"Kalevala: The Musical" featuring music and lyrics by Johanna Telander is a musical based on the Finnish National epic poem, Kalevala.

The studio cast is led by Tony and Olivier Nominee Ramin Karimloo and Tony Award Winner Alice Ripley, along with Broadway stars Jewelle Blackman, Marina Pires, Natalie Toro, and Kay Trinidad.

The recording also features Amanda Yachechak, Brandon Contreras, Johanna Telander, Kristi Roosmaa, Madison Claire Parks, Omer Shàish, Quentin Garzón, and Reeta Vestman.

The ensemble includes Angeline Mirenda, Ari Aaron, Brittany Rodin, Clay Christopher, Courtney Cheatham, Eeppi Ursin, Elena Ramos Pascullo, Jade Rosenberg, Janine Colletti, Joey Boover, John Koski, Marc Christopher, Markus Kaitila, Marshall Ross, Mikael Haavisto, Nicholas Leung, Nicole Corris, Noel Houle-von Behren, Olivia Valli, Petra Jasmiina Haapamäki, Rebekkah Vega-Romero, and Stephen Velasquez.

Composer Johanna Telander: "If trees could speak, they would certainly have worthy tales to tell. Inspired by this thought, I turned to the Kalevala Epic Poem as I sought a way to enlighten my kids about their own unique heritage. Little did I know that this project, which started as a simple song cycle, would take me on the most meaningful artistic journey of my life and would come to inspire so many. The universal stories of Kalevala are rich with timeless life lessons, inviting us to explore? The very roots of humanity, when nature still spoke to us in a language we understood."

The musical, which is set to a lush score of ethereal yet powerful pop, folk, world music, and jazz, follows two children on their epic fantasy adventure through an ancient haunted forest. They discover the healing power of near-forgotten music on their quest to help Spirits of Nature find the lost Spirit of Man.

Lead producer Quentin Garzon "I believe that this show has one of the best scores I've heard and a true potential to be the next big Broadway hit with a tremendous, diverse cast in league with Hadestown and Hamilton."

The concept album is produced by Quentin Garzón and Kristi Roosmaa. The creative team is joined by orchestrator Marko Hilpo and brand marketing director Valev Laube of The VL Studios.

More info about Kalevala: the Musical: https://www.kalevalamusical.com.