San Francisco Opera has announced that it will present “Beyond Innocence,” an initiative to provide additional context for its upcoming production of Kaija Sariaaho’s “Innocence.”

The initiative includes a daylong symposium “BEYOND INNOCENCE: The Power of Community and the Arts & the Prevention of Gun Violence,” presented by San Francisco Opera, Live Free USA, and Lumahai Productions. There will be panels, conversations, and performances that highlight the themes of the opera, which takes place during a wedding reception as a school shooting ten years earlier comes to the forefront. Among the participants in the symposium are co-curator Pastor Mike McBride of Live Free USA; San Francisco Human Rights Commission Executive Director Sheryl Davis; UCSF trauma surgeon Rochelle A. Dicker; GIFFORDS’ policy expert Mike McLively; San Francisco Youth Commission Chair Ewan Barker Plummer; composer Gabriela Lena Frank; “Innocence” cast member Vilma Jää and librettists Aleksi Barrière and Sofi Oksanen; and moderators including W. Kamau Bell, KQED’s Mina Kim. 

“’Innocence’ portrays how a community is affected by an atrocity and questions the very notion of innocence as it relates to the tragedy,” said Ryan Marchand, San Francisco Opera’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Community in an official press statement. “My team and I were inspired by the opera and its characters. We wondered what they needed from the world, from their community and if the violence could have been prevented. That’s almost impossible to say, but it still made us wonder—what can we participate in to make the all too resonant story of ‘Innocence’ an unnecessary one? Envisioning a connected, resourced and creative community resulted in our reaching out to the partners taking part in BEYOND INNOCENCE, all of whom are doing deep work around social justice and fostering community. Through these partnerships, I hope people walk away understanding that there are actionable things that we can do today to envision and create safer, more vibrant communities. And that the arts have a vital role to play in all of this.”

In addition to the panel discussions, the San Francisco Opera will offer post-performance events following every presentation of “Innocence” between June 1 -21, 2024. There will be talkbacks with artists and team members as well as reflective space for quiet, grounding activities led by UCSF Wraparound counselors, among other activities.