Film: Kaija Saariaho's opera L'Amour de loin

Finnish born composer Kaija Saariaho's first opera tells the seemingly simple story in 5 acts and with 3 characters of a man's longing for a "love from afar." Inspired by the work of 12th century French troubadour Jaufre Rudel, and with a libretto by contemporary French-Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf, it is a fusion of Western and Eastern perspectives on life, longing and death. In 2019, the Guardian UK included L'Amour de loin in their critics' picks for 25 best classical works of the 21st century. For more information, see the opera's Wikipedia page.

Kaija Saariaho is widely regarded as one of the world's greatest living composers. Her style is characterized by an emphasis on color and texture, with comparisons to Debussy, Messiaen, and associations with the spectral composition movement — immanently ear-friendly. 

Composer: Kaija Saariaho
Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen
Orchestra: Finnish National Opera Orchestra
Chorus: Suomen Kansallisoopperan Kuoro
Libretto: Amin Maalouf
Vocals/Cast: Monica Groop, Dawn Upshaw, Gerald Finley
Direction: Peter Sellars

NR, 139 min., 2004. Closed captions (CC) in English.

This one-time video screening made possible with permission from UMe.