Claire Galloway, Soprano Katherine Hsu, Piano Nordic Song Festival, Vänersborg Theater, Sweden August 10th, 2022 www.clairegalloway.com Sami girl Vaino has fallen in love with Arnljot but has been sent away by him. She wanders her beloved wilderness reflecting. "Oh, were there a mesh I could knit into a snare to trap his mind. Oh, were there a word I could sing to form a net around his thoughts. But, alas, to capture the wind with this net’s tiny threads is impossible, and now comes the forest’s shyest moose to listen to Vaino’s song. I weave for the golden red pipe, whose lust follows the waves, The blue green iridescent dragonflies shimmer of sun-shiny seals I weave for silver salmon who defiantly and strongly weaves his straw among the rapids’ boiling water And no one listens to Vaino’s song Only the echo in the moors answers me The guests dance The dead wail Oh wilderness, wilderness where do you hide my beloved?" Original Swedish libretto by William Peterson-Berger Translation by Claire Galloway