Innocence

Synopsis

Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho (*1952) draws listeners into her soundscape: From the brooding darkness of the opening bars, the audience finds itself dragged into the unfolding nightmare. The libretto by Sofi Oksanen interweaves two narratives of a school shooting. One focuses on the students and their teacher who were present at the time of the massacre. The second is set in the present day at a wedding with the family of the shooter celebrating their innocent son’s marriage. A thriller-like intensity shifts time levels and a mixture of nine languages. “The most powerful work Saariaho has written in a career now in its fifth decade” (The New York Times). Director Simon Stone approaches this multi-layered subject with sensitivity and empathy, supported by Susanna Malkki’s fine reading of the score on the rostrum of the London Symphony Orchestra and a great cast including Magdalena Kožena and Sandrine Piau. “A composer creates her masterpiece with Innocence” The New York Times

Additional Info

• No: A01050131
• Composer: Kaija Saariaho
• Conductor: Susanna Mälkki
• Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra; Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
• Artists: Magdalena Kožená, Sandrine Piau, Tuomas Pursio, Lilian Farahani, Markus Nykänen
• Production year: 2021
• Run time: 01:51:00
• Director: Stage Director: Simon Stone
• Producers: Camera lucida productions, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Radio France, ARTE
• Format: HDTV 16:9