Innocence - ROH

[Belgrove]

Kaija Saariaho’s new opera had its premier at Aix en Provence in 2021 and the same production arrives at Covent Garden next week. The scenario looks sobering and is sadly all too topical. Anyone going?

[Master Jacques]

Not I.

[LHC]

I'm going on Monday.

[Bryn]

Any sign of a prospective Radio 3 broadcast as yet?

[Belgrove]

The stuff of opera is Love and Death, and these feature in abundance in Innocence. I’m reluctant to relate too much of the plot, for it unfolds like an absorbing thriller where, over the first half of the work, one has to figure out precisely what is going on, and when. From the opening bars of the extended orchestral prelude, growling contrabassoon and double basses create a foreboding and uneasy atmosphere that continues once the curtain rises to reveal a strangely muted and small-scale wedding breakfast in a restaurant. There’s a reason for this. The set is nothing less than an entire two-storey building whose multiple rooms are revealed and change their function as it slowly rotates, nifty work by the unseen stagehands here. We gradually piece together that the restaurant had a previous existence as an international school, where an event in the previous decade reaches forward into the now. The two timelines braid together, so we eventually see those past events and their present ramifications simultaneously portrayed. It’s enormously skilful storytelling and it’s difficult to imagine how the transparent production could be improved upon.

It’s an intense experience, not least because the plot is so gripping, with further revelatory surprises toward the end - actions and their motives are never straightforward. Indeed so compelling and cinematic is the action that the music becomes almost secondary. The orchestra is substantial and is augmented by an extended percussion section with vibraphone, xylophone and marimba, and harp, piano and prominent celesta. All these provide insidious glittering shimmer and sheen. The glorious ROH horn section erupt at a crucial juncture, although the few fortissimos in the score lacked the heft that this orchestra can provide. I saw the rehearsal, so maybe they were saving themselves. It has a large cast of singers, singing in a variety of styles including Finnish folk-music, actors in multi-lingual speaking roles (three cheers for surtitles), and a hidden chorus who provide a further textural layer to the rich and sophisticated sound world.

There’s no indication whether R3 intends to broadcast this, but my impression is it really needs to be seen to appreciate its power and ability to move.

[Simon Biazeck]

The stuff of opera is Love and Death, and these feature in abundance in Innocence. I’m reluctant to relate too much of the plot, for it unfolds like an absorbing thriller where, over the first half of the work, one has to figure out precisely what is going on, and when. From the opening bars of the extended orchestral prelude, growling contrabassoon and double basses create a foreboding and uneasy atmosphere that continues once the curtain rises to reveal a strangely muted and small-scale wedding breakfast in a restaurant. There’s a reason for this. The set is nothing less than an entire two-storey building whose multiple rooms are revealed and change their function as it slowly rotates, nifty work by the unseen stagehands here. We gradually piece together that the restaurant had a previous existence as an international school, where an event in the previous decade reaches forward into the now. The two timelines braid together, so we eventually see those past events and their present ramifications simultaneously portrayed. It’s enormously skilful storytelling and it’s difficult to imagine how the transparent production could be improved upon.

It’s an intense experience, not least because the plot is so gripping, with further revelatory surprises toward the end - actions and their motives are never straightforward. Indeed so compelling and cinematic is the action that the music becomes almost secondary. The orchestra is substantial and is augmented by an extended percussion section with vibraphone, xylophone and marimba, and harp, piano and prominent celesta. All these provide insidious glittering shimmer and sheen. The glorious ROH horn section erupt at a crucial juncture, although the few fortissimos in the score lacked the heft that this orchestra can provide. I saw the rehearsal, so maybe they were saving themselves. It has a large cast of singers, singing in a variety of styles including Finnish folk-music, actors in multi-lingual speaking roles (three cheers for surtitles), and a hidden chorus who provide a further textural layer to the rich and sophisticated sound world.

There’s no indication whether R3 intends to broadcast this, but my impression is it really needs to be seen to appreciate its power and ability to move.

Thanks for this. I am only on the peripheral in the House and it's been fascinating to hear how it's been going with snippets over the tannoy and a xylophone player rehearsing with a metronome at the bottom of a stairwell! Rattle said of the Aix-en-Provence première that it was what he imagined the première of Wozzeck to be like. High priaise indeed! Colleagues have encouraged me to go.

~SBz.

[Master Jacques]

Rattle said of the Aix-en-Provence première that it was what he imagined the première of Wozzeck to be like. High priaise indeed! Colleagues have encouraged me to go.

Hm. Rattle said exactly that about Sophie's Choice as well, about 20 years ago. Now whatever happened to Maw's magnum opus?

I fear that Love and Death falls into a similar category for me, on the basis of what I've seen and heard of it. It's a garden of easy achievement, when you pick a subject that's so squarely placed on the very highest moral ground. True drama - like Wozzeck - is filled with ambiguity. I doubt that this one is, any more than the forgotten Sophie's Choice.

[underthecountertenor]

Hm. Rattle said exactly that about Sophie's Choice as well, about 20 years ago. Now whatever happened to Maw's magnum opus?

I fear that Love and Death falls into a similar category for me, on the basis of what I've seen and heard of it. It's a garden of easy achievement, when you pick a subject that's so squarely placed on the very highest moral ground. True drama - like Wozzeck - is filled with ambiguity. I doubt that this one is, any more than the forgotten Sophie's Choice.

Would it be unfair of me to suggest that, if you think it’s called ‘Love and Death,’ you’ve perhaps not seen or heard enough of it to judge?

I do however agree that Maw’s Sophie’s Choice was a stinking failure. Went to that. Hated it. ‘Innocence’ is a very different, and very much better, piece. Belgrove’s review chimes with my experience (at opening night).

[LHC]

I too was there last night, and think Belgrove's summary is very fair, except to say that from where I was sitting there was no lack of heft in the climaxes.

The production is very impressive, although interestingly in the programme Saariaho is quoted as saying it was completely different to what she had imagined when she was composing the piece (she does go on to praise the production, so I don't think any criticism is implied in her statement). I was very struck by the precision of the musical sound world that Saariaho conjures up, although the very variety of vocal contributions from the various singers and actors makes it feel less 'operatic' and more like a piece of complex musical theatre. Pace Master Jacques' dismissal of it sight unseen, I would say that the final conclusion is full of ambiguity and nuance, and I didn't get any sense of its authors taking the moral high ground or seeking to reach easy solutions to their story.

[Master Jacques]

Would it be unfair of me to suggest that, if you think it’s called ‘Love and Death,’ you’ve perhaps not seen or heard enough of it to judge?

It would be completely fair - and I grovel apologetically for my slip. That's what happens when you're trying to comment on a draft chapter structure, review a cpo operetta, and pen a sour polemic at one and the same time! My mistake was made in all Innocence.

Pace Master Jacques' dismissal of it sight unseen, I would say that the final conclusion is full of ambiguity and nuance, and I didn't get any sense of its authors taking the moral high ground or seeking to reach easy solutions to their story.

I have read a rough translation of the libretto (existentially high-minded, Scandi-noir thriller), heard some bits and pieces of the score, and read quite a few reviews of the Aix premiere, including an admirable one by Mark Valencia in Opera. He was enthusiastic about the evening, but wondered if the opera itself wasn't too narrative-driven and too much on the surface musically to repay repeated hearings.

These reports did not get my operatic juices going, especially as I'd found L'Amour de loin a grave disappointment at ENO. But I'm impressed by what contributors here have to say. I'd only add, that although the conclusion presents moral paradox, that isn't quite what I mean by ambiguity, which is more to do with character and theme than with plot resolutions.

[Master Jacques]

https://theartsdesk.com/opera/innocence-royal-opera-review-timely-layered-drama-almost-incidental-music

"... timely, layered drama with almost incidental music". This is (I think) a well-considered, nuanced review by David Nice.

[Belgrove]

…including an admirable [review] by Mark Valencia in Opera. He was enthusiastic about the evening, but wondered if the opera itself wasn't too narrative-driven and too much on the surface musically to repay repeated hearings…

I think that’s a fair assessment. The narrative and its portrayal at a first viewing is so compelling that the music was somewhat subsumed. Further attendance would enable one to get better acquainted with the musical qualities and with an appreciation of how these relate to the drama. But it’s a tough watch. I don’t feel I want to see this demanding and upsetting material again so soon, so my considered opinion of its musical qualities will have to wait. Indeed I wonder what affect it has on the performers?

Next visit to Covent Garden is for Wozzeck - so no laughs on the (operatic) horizon.

[underthecountertenor]

I think that’s a fair assessment. The narrative and its portrayal at a first viewing is so compelling that the music was somewhat subsumed. Further attendance would enable one to get better acquainted with the musical qualities and with an appreciation of how these relate to the drama. But it’s a tough watch. I don’t feel I want to see this demanding and upsetting material again so soon, so my considered opinion of its musical qualities will have to wait. Indeed I wonder what affect it has on the performers?

Next visit to Covent Garden is for Wozzeck - so no laughs on the (operatic) horizon.

I absolutely agree - I really want to go again to reassess Sariaaho’s music, but am not sure that I can put myself through it again this time.

[Master Jacques]

Next visit to Covent Garden is for Wozzeck - so no laughs on the (operatic) horizon.

Though to be fair to Berg/Büchner, black humour is intrinsic to the Wozzeck/Woyzeck experience. ("Hop hop!") But laughs? ... well, no.

[Pulcinella]

Four stars from Richard Morrison in The Times:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/innocence-review-a-visceral-volatile-operatic-thriller-gdqgns0st?shareToken=f4ec0151957fdb38f0acde6a1866a85b