Today marks 50 years since the premiere of the Moomin opera! Written by Tove Jansson with music composed by Ilkka Kuusisto and direction by Heikki Värtsi, the opera brought the Moomins to life on stage in a completely new way. Initially, Tove thought singing Moomins might be tricky – after all, those big noses had already caused challenges in spoken theatre! However, she and costume designer Hans Kling worked together to create heads that were both true to the Moomins and practical for singing.

A guide to the Moomin characters