Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.03.2019, Page 4

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4 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • March 15 2019
I would like to publicly
thank Icelandair for
quick service, caring, and
compassion. About 20 minutes
before my scheduled flight,
I was forced to cancel owing
to the sudden death of a
close friend here. Icelandair
immediately refunded my
ticket as well as the points I
used in purchasing it.
I recognize that I’m
preaching to the choir but I know
of no other airline that would
have reacted so well. When my
mother died, I had to book a
last minute flight from Denver
to Ottawa. Despite having a
bereavement discount listed on
their website, a different airline
refused it because “our fares are
already low.”
I regularly fly Icelandair (it
was Loftleiðir when I first flew
to Iceland) and certainly now
have more reason than ever to
remain loyal to them.
Holly Ralph
Ancaster, ON
I just wanted to thank you
for your insight into giving
Melanie Johannesson her own
series on her brave fight against
cancer. She is a talented writer,
and I can truly picture how a
person thinks and feels while
going through such a delicate
part of life. I am impressed
by her eloquent tone, and she
writes in such a truthful manner
that I have been on the verge of
tears sometimes while reading
it; only the very best of writers
can write in such a way that we
feel as if we are in their shoes.
Not only does she have a strong
voice, but she is eloquently
putting a face to the name of the
word cancer. It is so important
for people to view a glimpse of
what others have to go through
in their brave fight against
cancer. We will understand
better what to say, how to act,
and, best of all, how to react if
we are ever having to go through
this ourselves. Bravo, Lögberg-
Heimskringla, for I feel you
really have found a winner in
Melanie Johannesson, and she
has taught us all a thing or two
about bravery in the face of
cancer! Bless, bless.
Julianna Bjornson
Delta, BC
The Broadway musical
Fiddler on the Roof
made its Icelandic debut
on the stage of the National
Theatre in Reykjavík 50 years
ago this month – on March
14, 1969. Fiðlarinn á þakinu
garnered as much attention
on Hvervisgata as it did on
Broadway. A preview in Vikan
described the play as “funny
and lyrical and rich in humanity
and faithfulness.”
In one scene of the original
Icelandic production of Fiddler,
Tevye (played by Róbert
Arnfinnsson) sat in conversation
with the wealthy butcher
Lazar Wolf (played by Ævar
R. Kvaran) – the memorable
scene in which Lazar Wolf asks
for Tevye’s oldest daughter’s
hand in marriage. On the table
between them was a bottle of
brennivín with its distinctive
Icelandic label, perhaps
reminding the audience that
the characters were not so
different in their aspirations
and everyday behaviours
than a couple of farmers in
Skagafjörður. (In all honesty,
I wouldn’t have been entirely
surprised to see the characters
wearing lopapeysa sweaters,
but the producers dressed the
cast in culturally appropriate
costumes.) Fiðlarinn á þakinu
has remained popular in Iceland,
returning to the stage often,
especially in local productions.
It speaks to us.
I first saw Fiddler on the
Roof with my parents when
it first appeared on the silver
screen. Since then, I’ve seen
it on stage and I’ve read the
magical short stories of Sholem
Aleichem, upon which the
musical is based. I’ve sung
along with Topel and Zero
Mostel, Herschel Bernardi and
Theodore Bikel, as each of them
sought to interpret the musical’s
central character, Tevye.
The character Tevye
resonates with me – his deep
appreciation of tradition, his
profound sense of trust and
faithfulness, his abiding love for
his wife and daughters, and his
confusion amidst the changing
world in which he lives. At the
same time, I also resonate with
Perchik, the suitor of Tevye’s
middle daughter, Hodl. Perchik
is a radical who is committed
to fundamentally changing
society, a student of philosophy
who trusts the future as much
as Tevye holds to tradition.
Hodl follows him willingly on a
journey that takes her far from
home, even as Tevye and his
wife, Golde, lose their home
in Anatevka and are forced to
move on. We are all fiddlers
on the roof, whether we know
it or not, dwelling in the space
between continuity and change,
trust and despair, tradition and
the unknown future.
The story of Tevye and
his daughters is a tale of those
who were poor in things but
rich in spirit, whose lives were
profoundly affected by forces
beyond their own control but
whose traditions and strength
of character spared them from
breaking amidst the vicissitudes
of life. In a nutshell, they are
much like our own ancestors
who braved the journey to North
America in search of a new life
while holding on, as best they
could, to the traditions of their
homeland. And they are much
like us, reflecting the precarious
journeys we all undertake
during the course of our lives,
however safe or daring we
imagine ourselves to be.
Stefan’s Saga
Stefan Jonasson
Editor
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Wouldn’t your amma and afi be proud?
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PHOTO: STEFAN JONASSON
The National Theatre of Iceland where the musical Fiðlarinn
á þakinu played in 1969