Autumn Sonata

After a seven-year absence, Charlotte, a successful international concert pianist, returns to her homeland to reunite with her daughter Eva, who has become a pastor’s wife in a small town. The relationship between the two women is complicated – Charlotte chose her career as a pianist over the responsibilities of motherhood. The visit reopens old wounds; the reunion is clouded by recriminations and justifications, and the need for mutual closeness makes the mother and daughter to seek and repel each other in turn.

Autumn Sonata was first made as a film in 1978; the character of Charlotte was partly based on Ingmar Bergman’s ex-wife Käbi Laretei, the Swedish pianist of Estonian descent. It has since been often performed as a theater piece on stages around the world.

“On an internal plane what it all boils down to of course is love: the presence and absence of love, the longing for love, love’s lies, love that is deformed, and love that is our sole chance of survival.” – Ingmar Bergman

Kairi Mändla – Art Director Award nominee 2026

The post-performance discussion (in Estonian) with the cast of Autumn Sonata will take place on 7th September at 18.50 in the B-side café of Estonian National Museum. The discussion will be moderated by family therapist, writer, and trainer Meelike Saarna.