Maiden of the North

Scene from the world premiere of Maiden of the North in Wiborg; Abraham Ojanperä is Väinämöinen and Mally Burjam-Bergaas is the maiden

Maiden of the North (Finnish: Pohjan neiti) is an opera by Oskar Merikanto. Composed in 1898, it was the first opera composed in the Finnish language; while other Finnish operas had been written previously, they had been composed in the Swedish language instead of the native Finnish. Maiden was written to a libretto by Antti Rytkönen. The opera was not premiered until 1908; at the first performances, in Wiborg, the title role was taken by Mally Burjam-Bergaas, while that of Väinämöinen was sung by Abraham Ojanperä.