Tune in on Saturday, April 18 at 1 p.m. for The Metropolitan Opera’s broadcast of the late Kaija Saariaho’s final opera, Innocence. Hailed by Zachary Woolfe in The New York Times as Saariaho’s masterpiece, the opera spans nine languages and features an emotionally gripping libretto. WRTI will carry the broadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera House, as part of the Met’s Saturday matinee series.
Innocence’s libretto, written by Finnish author Sofi Oksanen and Aleksi Barrière, follows a wedding which takes place ten years after a tragic school shooting. The bridegroom, whose brother was the shooter, hires a waitress, Tereza, whose daughter was a victim of the shooting. The bride, Stela, must uncover the dark, painful history between Tereza and her in-laws.
This production’s cast will feature mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and ethno-pop singer Vilma Jää as a grieving mother and the daughter she lost in the shooting, soprano Jacquelyn Stucker and tenor Miles Mykannen as a newlywed couple, and soprano Kathleen Kim and baritone Rod Gilfry as the bridegroom’s parents. The opera will be conducted by Maestro Susanna Mälkki, a close friend and collaborator of Saariaho's.
From The Met Opera: As an additional note for this upcoming broadcast of Innocence, please be advised that the opera deals with the emotional aftermath of a school shooting, ten years after the event. Characters describe their memories of the violence, but it is not depicted in the opera.
Cast:
- Joyce DiDonato as the Waitress (Tereza)
- Vilma Jää as Student 1 (Markéta)
- Jacquelyn Stucker as the Bride (Stela)
- Miles Mykkanen as the Bridegroom (Tuomas)
- Kathleen Kim as the Mother-In-Law (Patricia)
- Rod Gilfry as the Father-In-Law (Henrik)
Conducted by Susanna Mälkki