Dead men tell no tales... but we are no men.
Johanna Telander’s “The Tales of Les Dames Blanches” breathes life into the most universally fearsome female ghosts, and unveils why their stories are still relevant today.
The highly anticipated new musical work by Finnish-American composer Johanna Telander explores the depths of womanhood through “Les Dames Blanches”, or Ladies in White, a collection of notorious ghost stories told throughout the world, from the folklore of medieval Europe, to fireside tales across all four continents.
From France’s “La Dame Blanche de Puymartin”, to Latin America’s “La Llorona”, to Philippines’ “White Lady of Balete Drive” to Finland’s “Valkoinen Rouva”, the musical depicts the individual journeys of these elusive women in white, and the horrific fables they inspired, finding connection points in the feminine archetypes of Jungian psychology.
From maidens to mothers, and witches to queens, the Dames Blanches of this story are as complex as the real women in our lives today - and the musical explores the haunting inner secrets history pages may have left unmarked and unexplored.
What do we really know of these feared phantoms in white, these creatures of light and darkness? And what could their stories teach us about womanhood in our world today, if only we dare to lift the veil?
About the composer
Johanna Telander is a Finnish-American composer, writer, performer, published poet and a Recording Academy Voting Member since 2024.
The most internationally prominent Finnish musical theatre composer, whose works have been heard on several stages in New York and Finland, as well as on silver screens around the world, Telander is likely best known as the creator of the global phenomenon Kalevala The Musical, from which song selections have been showcased at the UN Headquarters, The NY Scandinavia House, the Estonian House New York, Helsinki Kapsakki Theatre, and the Signature Theatre Off-Broadway. Kalevala the Musical's 2022 concept album, starring Broadway’s Ramin Karimloo and Julia Murney, has earned significant international acclaim, having been listened to in over 80 countries and having found thousands of fans in and outside of theatre communities worldwide.
Beyond theatre, Johanna has published two books of Poetry, and is collaborating on scripts and scores both as a writer and composer. She most recently earned acclaim for her contributions in Quentin Garzón’s award-winning indie short Gray Land—and continues to release her own original contemporary pop songs for voice and harp.
Career highlights include performing at the UN, Lincoln Center, and, alongside Residente and Bad Bunny, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Johanna is a member of NAMT, the Dramatist Guild, SONA, MAESTRA, The Recording Academy, incl. The GRAMMY®️ Songwriters and Composers Wing, the MLC, BMI, Women in Music, The Society of Composers and Lyricists, AWFC, and Sag-AFTRA.
The story behind "The Tales of Les Dames Blanches"
"Ultimately, this project aims to immerse audiences in a poetic, dramatic musical experience: inviting them in with a ghost story that favors mystery over horror, and offering a new lens on historical womanhood and the evolving nature of feminine power."
JOHANNA TELANDER
While visiting a castle in France, I encountered the regional ghost story of La Dame Blanche de Puymartin. Drawn in by her legend, I began researching similar myths across Europe and discovered a striking constellation of related figures: Germany’s Hohenzollern White Lady and Weiße Frauen, the Celtic White Lady of Kinsale, Estonia’s White Lady of Haapsalu, Norway’s Hulder, Sweden’s Tallemaja, and Finland’s Valkoinen Rouva.
From this research emerged the seed of a stage musical exploring womanhood through the shared archetype of the Lady in White, figures suspended between myth and memory, fear and reverence. These women appear as maidens, mothers, witches, sirens, and queens, yet history has often recorded them through a patriarchal lens, flattening their complexity. What might their stories reveal if retold from within? How have these myths shaped cultural views of femininity and power, and what do they still echo into modern feminism?
Les Dames Blanches reframes these spectral figures as neither villains nor saints, but as haunted, luminous beings carrying unspoken truths. The piece asks what they might teach us about silence, agency, grief, and resilience, if we dare to lift the veil.
Musically, the work reflects this layered mythology, weaving classical, folk, and ethereal pop-jazz textures into a sound world that shifts from sparse and eerie to cinematic and exuberant.
The setting moves from storm-lashed skerries and deep forests to liminal realms beyond time, as the ghosts journey toward redemption aboard a ferryman’s boat, guided by the Reaper: a quiet, trusted companion. Nordic soundscapes anchor the score, drawing on influences from my childhood, including Myrskyluodon Maija, Tove Jansson’s Moomins, and echoes of the Kalevala Forest.
Ultimately, this project aims to immerse audiences in a poetic, dramatic musical experience: inviting them in with a ghost story that favors mystery over horror, and offering a new lens on historical womanhood and the evolving nature of feminine power.
Producers
Mia Moravis
Mia Moravis serves on the Board of Governors~The Recording Academy® (GRAMMYs®)-NY Chapter and is a Member of The Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing, Songwriters & Composers Wing, and DEI and Musical Theater Task Forces. Mia is a Tony®-nominated and three-time Emmy®-nominated Producer, and has served as Producer, Performer, Executive Producer, and Associate Producer, on multiple GRAMMY®-winning and -nominated albums. She is a Remi® Award-winning filmmaker ("Seeking Heat", about the international artists on David Byrneʼs Luaka Bop label), an award-winning actress, and 28-time ASCAP PLUS Award-winning songwriter. Mia is a Producer of the upcoming documentary, "Sweet Harmony: The Manhattan Transfer", directed by Oscar® nominee, Miles Mogulescu.
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Petra Jasmiina Haapamäki
Petra Jasmiina is a singer-songwriter, producer and community organizer originally from Finland, currently living in New York City. Besides her own original music, she is the producer of various projects in music and musical theatre. Via her production company Petrafied Productions she has gained accolades for her visual storytelling, incl. "Best Pop Music Video" at Europe Music Awards and "Platinum Video" at MUSE Creative Awards. She is also the founder and President of non-profit organization Nordic Artists of New York (NANY), a vibrant community of artists and a groundbreaking initiative for artistic collaboration and cultural exchange in the Nordic art scene of New York. Other notable work includes Associate Producing Johanna Telander’s global phenomenon Kalevala the Musical and its internationally acclaimed Concept Album, and Lead Producing The True North 2025 Showcase, New York’s largest Nordic and Baltic art event featuring works by 50 artists.
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