Jonas Forssell is well known in his native Sweden and in Denmark for his musical stage works, in particular his productions for small arenas such as the Old Theatre in Vadstena, which looks not much larger than a decent-sized living room and whose pit would probably be hard-pressed to accommodate many more than the eight musicians featured here.

Thine is the Kingdom is an opera buffa with a twist, the twist being that it turns on the fate of asylum-seekers in Sweden. Unfortunately the political punch is as soggy as the comedy is predictable (affection between male asylum-seeker and young nun, and between female asylum-seeker and the convent gardener…). Whimsically, the opera divides into 12 scenes associated with the 12 Apostles and 12 clauses from the Lord’s Prayer. Inviting crushing comparison with The Turn of the Screw, each scene is based on one of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale. Each musician is associated with an archangel (the synthesiser player with Lucifer).

Sadly, this conceit is more interesting than the music Forssell has composed. The basic style is nondescript linear counterpoint (think Eisler without the tunes) mildly spiced with gestural modernism. Frankly it is thin, in places even embarrassing, stuff (the idea of casting the trombonist as police officer is one any self-respecting student, or at least their teacher, ought to reject). One can only admire the dedication of the conductor and musicians and the determination of the singers to put across something of dramatic worth.

Extraordinary the number of operas set wholly or partly in nunneries or monasteries; but I doubt whether Thine is the Kingdom is destined to achieve the fame or status of the best of them. The booklet is commendably informative and contains a full libretto– a scene-by-scene synopsis would actually have been more helpful. Definitely for the specialist collector only.