Innocence (opera)

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. It received its world premiere on 3 July 2021 at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, conducted by Susanna Mälkki and directed by Simon Stone.

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

Plot
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.

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

Instrumentation
The piece is scored for the following orchestra:

Woodwinds

 * 3 Flutes (1st and 2nd doubling piccolo, 3rd doubling alto flute)
 * 3 Oboes
 * 3 Clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet)
 * 3 Bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon)

Brass

 * 4 Horns
 * 2 Trumpets
 * 3 Trombones
 * 1 Tuba

Percussion

 * Timpani

Percussion 1

 * Glockenspiel
 * Crotales
 * 2 Woodblocks
 * Suspended cymbal (small)
 * Bass drum
 * Maracas
 * Tom-tom

Percussion 2

 * Vibraphone
 * Xylophone
 * Tom-tom
 * Frame drum
 * Snare drum
 * Wood chimes
 * Suspended cymbal (medium)

Percussion 3

 * Marimba
 * Crotales
 * Tam-tam
 * 2 Suspended cymbals (small, large)
 * Snare drum
 * Large frame drum
 * Triangle
 * Cowbell
 * Cabasa

Percussion 4

 * Tubular bells
 * Bass drum
 * Snare drum
 * Slit drum
 * Glass chimes
 * Triangle
 * Guiro
 * Woodblock
 * Small finger cymbal with triangle beater
 * Chinese tom-tom
 * Sizzle cymbal with chain
 * Suspended cymbal (large)
 * Bell tree

Keyboards

 * Piano
 * Celesta

Strings

 * Harp
 * Strings

Performances
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. The production was subsequently performed in October–November 2022 at the Finnish National Opera, in April–May 2023 at the Royal Opera House, in October 2023 at the Dutch National Opera, and in June 2024 at San Francisco Opera.

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. 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).

Reception
Innocence has been received well by critics, with Zachary Woolfe of The New York Times calling it Saariaho's "masterpiece". 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". Richard Morrison of The Times gave the opera four stars, calling it a "visceral, volatile thriller" and commenting on the opera's topicality.

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.

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

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