Wikipedia
Kullervo is an ill-fated character from the Finnish Kalevala epic. Kullervo, son of Kalervo, is the only tragic character in Finnish mythology. Growing up thinking his family was dead after the massacre of his tribe, he also recognized that he was raised by people who hated him and whom he did not trust, knowing that they were his people's murderers; he was raised by the people of Untamo, his enemy. Later, he was sold into slavery and mocked and tormented further. When he finally ran away, he finds his family, only to lose them again, and unknowingly seduces and has sexual relations with his sister, whom he thought dead. When she finds out it was her own brother who seduced her, she commits suicide. Kullervo becomes mad with rage, returns to Untamo and his tribe, exterminates them using his powers, and commits suicide. The story of Kullervo differs from all other folktales in that it describes the effects of child abuse. In the end of the poem the character Väinämöinen especially warns all parents about abusing their children. The theme was used by Filip von Schantz, Robert Kajanus, Jean Sibelius, Grahame Gordon Innes, Armas Launis and Leevi Madetoja in the Finnish culture for poems, music and in literature. An unfinished novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Story of Kullervo, is based on the tale and was published on 27 August 2015.
Kullervo, Op. 7, is a suite of symphonic movements by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Although often referred to as a "choral symphony," the work avoids traditional symphonic structure and its five movements constitute a set of related but independent tone poems. The third and fifth movements make use of a men's chorus. The third, authorized by the composer for performance as an independent work, also calls for two soloists, a baritone and a mezzo-soprano. Based on the character of Kullervo in the epic poem Kalevala and using texts from that poem, the work premiered to critical acclaim on 28 April 1892 with Emmy Achté and Abraham Ojanperä as soloists and the composer conducting the chorus and orchestra of the Helsinki Orchestra Society, which was founded in that year.