Saturday Afternoon at the Opera presents a tale of wanderlust and love, Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin from the Canadian Opera Company.
Anyone who has experienced love from a long distance knows the simple saying about absence making the heart grow fonder really misses the mark. Love can be difficult in person. Add distance and it becomes infinitely more complex. Sometimes hopelessly more complex.
This opera was created by two artists living in voluntary exhile. Saariaho is Finnish but has lived in Paris since 1983. Lebanese-French author and journalist Amin Maalouf wrote the libretto.
It evolved over many years after Saariaho saw the original manuscripts of the story of Jaufre Rudel. She was also inspired by Peter Sellars who had staged an opera at the 1992 Salzberg Festival. She liked his style and sensibility. He directed the original production of L’Amour de Loin in 2000.
Saariaho mixes electronic music with traditional woodwinds for a unique contemporary sound.
The opera has met with great success and has been praised by a New York Times critic as a “haunting and resonant work.” It explores deep themes of obsession, devotion, reality and illusion, the loneliness of the artist and the need to belong.
In this video Saariaho explains how the tragic love story unfolds.
The COC’s summary of the plot:
When visiting Blaye, a Pilgrim tells him about the Countess who lives in Tripoli and Jaufré falls in love with her sight unseen. He composes songs describing his distant love. When the Pilgrim visits Tripoli again, he sings one of Jaufré’s songs to the Countess Clémence, and describes the troubadour who sings about her. At first, Clémence doubts whether she is worthy of his love, but eventually she falls in love with her distant admirer.
Jaufré and the Pilgrim take a journey across the sea toward Tripoli to meet the Countess. On the voyage, Jaufré falls ill and dreams about their meeting. When they arrive in Tripoli and the couple finally meets, he dies in her arms. At first, the Countess curses her fate, but gradually her grief transforms into acceptance and love.
Click here to view a full synopsis as you listen.
Cast:
Jaufré Rudel: Russell Braun
Clémence: Erin Wall
The Pilgrim: Krisztina Szabò
COC Orchestra and chorus
Conductor: Johannes Debus
Related:
Saana Litti’s academic article about Saariaho’s first opera
