Innocence (opera)

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Innocence
Opera by Kaija Saariaho
LibrettistSofi Oksanen, translated and adapted by Aleksi Barrière
LanguageEnglish, Finnish, Czech, French, Romanian, Swedish, German, Spanish, Greek
Premiere
3 July 2021 (2021-07-03)
Aix-en-Provence Festival

Innocence is an opera in five acts by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The libretto was written in Finnish by Sofi Oksanen and translated/adapted by Aleksi Barrière.

The opera was co-commissioned by the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Dutch National Opera, the Finnish National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera.[1][2] It received its world premiere on 3 July 2021 at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, conducted by Susanna Mälkki and directed by Simon Stone.[3]

The opera tells the intertwined stories of a wedding in 2000s Helsinki and a school shooting ten years prior,[1][4] and has been described as a thriller.[5][6]

Plot[edit]

The opera, set in 21st century Helsinki, tells the intertwined stories of the wedding of Tuomas and Stela and a school shooting ten years prior. Before long, it is revealed that the shooter, who has recently been released, was Tuomas's brother. The family has kept the events from Stela, however, wishing to distance themselves from the event. Tereza, a waitress who was called to work the wedding at the last minute, overhears a conversation about Tuomas's brother; she is the mother of one of the shooting victims, Markéta, who appears throughout the opera as a ghost.

The events of the wedding reception are interspersed with scenes from the school, narrated by the teacher. While all the characters at the wedding are cast as opera singers, the surviving students are all "musical actors", separating them into what Saariaho and Oksanen refer to as "the realm of memories". Throughout the opera, the involvement of the surviving students and of Tuomas in the tragedy is explored, making it clear that none is wholly innocent. The shooter is never represented onstage, however, with the opera instead focusing on the aftermath of the tragedy and its effect on the victims.

Tereza eventually breaks her silence, lashing out at Tuomas's mother and demanding an explanation. The family is then forced to explain the tragedy to Stela, who, to their surprise, is prepared to forgive Tuomas. Tuomas, however, explains that he feels personally responsible for the tragedy and unable to escape his past, and so decides to leave Stela. The opera concludes with Markéta singing to Tereza plaintively, comforting her and asking her to move on.[1][4][5][6]

Roles[edit]

Each character sings in their native language (Finnish, Czech, French, Romanian, Swedish, German, Spanish, or Greek), with communication between characters occurring in English.[1] The role of Markéta, specified merely as a "folk singer" in the score, includes Finnish cow-herding calls and improvised cadenzas.[7][8] The role was created for and in collaboration with Vilma Jää [fi], a Finno-Ugric folk singer and researcher of herding songs who, as of 2024, has sung the role in all productions to date.[3][9][10][11]

Roles, voice types, premiere casts of three versions
Role Language Voice type Premiere cast[3]
The Waitress (Tereza) Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená
The Bride (Stela) Romanian lyric soprano Lilian Farahani
The Mother-In-Law (Patricia) French coloratura soprano Sandrine Piau
The Bridegroom (Tuomas) Finnish tenor Markus Nykänen
The Father-In-Law (Henrik) Finnish baritone Tuomas Pursio
The Priest Finnish bass-baritone Jukka Rasilainen
The Teacher (Cecilia) English singer Lucy Shelton
Student 1 (Markéta) Finnish folk singer Vilma Jää
Student 2 (Lilly) Swedish singing actor Lilly-Beate Mordal
Student 3 (Iris) French actor Julie Hega
Student 4 (Anton) German actor Simon Kluth
Student 5 (Jerónimo) Spanish actor Camilo Delgado Díaz
Student 6 (Alexia) Greek actor Marina Dumont

Instrumentation[edit]

The piece is scored for the following orchestra:[1]

Performances[edit]

Innocence received its premiere on 3 July 2021 at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, with Susanna Mälkki conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and directed by Simon Stone.[3][6] The production was subsequently performed in October–November 2022 at the Finnish National Opera,[10] in April–May 2023 at the Royal Opera House,[2][4] and in October 2023 at the Dutch National Opera.[9]

In 2022, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City announced that they would present Stone's production of the opera. Shortly following Saariaho's death in June 2023, they announced that it would be part of their 2025–2026 season.[12] Upon its performance, Saariaho will be the first female composer ever to have two operas staged at the Met. (Her first was L'Amour de loin, in 2016, only the second opera by a woman ever performed there).[8]

Reception[edit]

Innocence has been received well by critics, with Zachary Woolfe of The New York Times calling it Saariaho's "masterpiece".[6] In a five-star review of the opera's London production for The Telegraph, Nicholas Kenyon also referred to the opera as a "modern masterpiece".[13] Richard Morrison of The Times gave the opera four stars, calling it a "visceral, volatile thriller" and commenting on the opera's topicality.[14]

Andrew Clements reviewed the opera somewhat less favorably, giving it three stars in The Guardian. Clements praised the libretto, the production, and the "unfailingly beautiful" orchestral music, but claimed that the music (particularly the vocal writing) failed to match the heights of the drama.[15]

Vilma Jää's performance as Markéta, and Saariaho's use of Finnish folk singing techniques for the role, have been particularly praised.[8][15]

Mälkki has described the work as "one of the most important works of our time", while Simon Rattle comparing its importance to that of Alban Berg's Wozzeck.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Innocence | Kaija Saariaho". www.wisemusicclassical.com. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  2. ^ a b Cristi, A. A. "Kaija Saariaho's New Opera INNOCENCE Makes Its Long-Awaited UK Debut". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  3. ^ a b c d "INNOCENCE | Festival d'Aix—en—Provence | 3 – 23 juillet 2024". Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  4. ^ a b c d Jeal, Erica (2023-04-11). "'One of the most important works of our time' – inside Innocence, Kaija Saariaho's school-shooting opera". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  5. ^ a b Ross, Alex (2021-07-19). "The Sublime Terror of Kaija Saariaho's "Innocence"". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  6. ^ a b c d Woolfe, Zachary (2021-07-07). "Review: A Composer Creates Her Masterpiece With 'Innocence'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  7. ^ Staff, Operawire (2021-08-01). "Q & A: Vilma Jää on Performing Markéta in Saariaho's 'Innocence' & her Dream of Reviving Finnish Folk Music Traditions". OperaWire. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  8. ^ a b c "'An essential light for even the gloomiest moments' – Kaija Saariaho's operatic legacy". Gramophone. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  9. ^ a b Salazar, David (2023-08-15). "Dutch National Opera to Present Kaija Saariaho's 'Innocence'". OperaWire. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  10. ^ a b "Innocence". The Finnish National Opera and ballet. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  11. ^ "Vilma Jää bio". www.sfopera.com. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  12. ^ Salazar, Francisco (2023-06-05). "Metropolitan Opera to Present Kaija Saariaho's 'Innocence' in 2025–26". OperaWire. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  13. ^ Kenyon, Nicholas (2023-04-18). "Innocence: this school-shooting opera is a modern masterpiece". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  14. ^ Morrison, Richard (2024-01-24). "Innocence review — a visceral, volatile operatic thriller". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  15. ^ a b Clements, Andrew (2023-04-18). "Innocence review – Saariaho's iridescent score keeps the harrowing drama at arm's length". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
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