Tone Kummervold i Kaija Saariaho´s opera L´amour De Loin, foto Erik Berg

Kaija Saariahos opera Love at a distance  in Oslo 7. and 9
. Februar

The Finish composer Kaija Saariaho studied composition in Helsinki, Freiburg and Paris, where she has lived since 1982.

Her studies and research at IRCAM, – the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music, Paris, Founded by Pierre Boulez, have had a major influence on her music and her characteristically luxuriant and mysterious textures are often created by combining live music and electronics.

Although much of her catalogue comprises chamber works, from the mid-nineties she has turned increasingly to larger forces and broader structures, such as the opera L´amour de loin (Love at a distance), premiered at the 2000 Salzburg Festival (with a US premiere at the Santa Fe Opera in 2002),  her second opera, Adriana Mater, was commissioned for the Opéra National de Paris´ 2006 season.  The third opera, Émilie, has the life and death of Émilie du Châtelet as its topic. The librettist of all of the three operas is Amin Maalouf.

In Oslo the main roles are sung by: Russel Braun as Jauffre Rudell, Lucy Crowe as Clemence, and Tone Kummervold as the Pilgrime (foto)
. Conducted by Baldur Brönnimann. REGI, SCENOGRAFI OG LYSDESIGN: Elmgreen & Dragset. 

Can you love someone without having met them? And love can survive in the face of reality? These are some of the questions Kaija Saariaho in the critically acclaimed opera L’amour de loin. 

Please note that we are presenting FINNISH Opera, an overview in generally at www.kulturkompasset.com January 19th, from 12.30 PM. 

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A DVD from 2000 exist, and about that The New York Times wrote: « Best New Work of the Year 2000 » 

Kaija Saariaho: L’Amour de loin, Libretto by Amin Maalouf

Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen

Stage & Movie Director: Peter Sellars with Gerald Finley, Dawn Upshaw, Monica Groop, and Orchestra & Choir of the Finnish National Opera.