Adriana Mater

"Adriana Mater" is the second opera by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, with a libretto in French by her frequent collaborator, Amin Maalouf. The National Opera of Paris and the Finnish National Opera jointly commissioned the opera. It received its world premiere at the Opéra Bastille on 3 April 2006 in a production directed by Peter Sellars.cite news | author=Alan Riding | title=The Opera 'Adriana Mater' Addresses Motherhood in a War Zone | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/05/arts/music/05adri.html | work=New York Times | date=5 April 2006 | accessdate=2008-02-25] cite news | author=Alex Ross | title=Birth | url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/04/24/060424crmu_music | work=The New Yorker | date=24 April 2006 | accessdate=2008-02-25] The production was dedicated to Gerard Mortier, Artistic Director of the National Opera of Paris.

The opera’s Finnish premiere took place on 23 February 2008 in Helsinki. The opera received its UK premiere in a concert performance on 24 April 2008 [cite news | author=Andrew Clements | title=Adriana Mater (Barbican, London) | url=http://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/operalivereviews/story/0,,2276552,00.html| work=The Guardian | date=28 April 2008 | accessdate=2008-05-16] and its US premiere took place at the Santa Fe Opera on 26 July 2008 [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/arts/music/01adri.html?ref=arts] Anthony Tommasini, "Compassion, Not Revenge, After a Rape in a War Zone", "The New York Times", August 1, 2008] with Groop and Freund in their original roles.

Saariaho used memories of her own first pregnancy as part of the inspiration for the opera. Maalouf utilised his memories of being a war correspondent and his awareness of contemporary political and religious conflicts as themes in the opera.

Roles

ynopsis

The opera is set in the present day, in a crisis zone in an unnamed country. The story reflects on motherhood. Adriana, her son Yonas and her sister Rafka are caught in the midst of civil war. Years ago, Tsargo, a soldier from their village, raped the young Adriana, and Yonas was born despite Refka’s efforts to prevent her sister having the child. Adriana now anxiously watches Yonas as he grows into a man, and wonders whether he will grow up to be as violent as his father or gentler like his mother.

Critical reactions

:"In the TV interview Saariaho named director Sellars as the hero of the performance. Aside from the bitter and violent war events, Sellars has added to the opera a dimension of hope that the conductor herself had not envisaged in the first place. :"One of the principal themes in the opera is the relationship between the main character Adriana and her sister Refka. According to librettist Maalouf, the opera reflects "our world that has gone off the rails" while violent powers are rumbling in the music of the opera, also a poetic level of dream and reverie is present. The intense theme of the work forces the individual to contemplate particularly his or her relationship towards revenge and forgiveness. :"Adriana Mater" demonstrates that Kaija Saariaho remains one of the most interesting and imaginative contemporary composers." [ [http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Adriana+Mater+operas+world+premi%C3%A8re+is+big+success+in+Paris/1135219409320 "Adriana Mater" opera's world première is big success in Paris", "Helsingen Sanomat" (Finland) from www.hs.fi, 4 April 2006] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.musicweb-international.com/SandH/2008/Jan-Jun08/adriana_mater.htm Bill Kenny, "Peter Sellars revisits "Adriana Mater" in Helsinki: February premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s opera at the Finnish National Opera", "Seen and Heard International" on musicweb-international.com] , Retrieved 25 February 2008