Photo: Wide Eyed Studios On February 26, 2026, Curtis Opera Theatre presented something that was… unique. Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho (1952–2023) deliberately stripped away the familiar scaffolding of opera—no heroes, no villains, no tidy narrative arc—and replaced it with something closer to performance art with a score. Sung in French with English supertitles, “La Passion de Simone” is a 75-minute, {…}
(Photo: Andreas Etter) Having initially been rejected from studying composition at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki for essentially being female, the Finnish composer Katija Saariaho was certainly no stranger to the old prejudices that have severely restricted the lives of many millions of women over the centuries. It is not surprising, therefore, that when she came to write an opera {…}
The Royal Philharmonic Society Awards winners were announced at the Royal Northern College of Music on March 5. For the purposes of this article only opera related winners are included. Taking home the Conductor Prize is François-Xavier Roth. Meanwhile the Ensemble Award went to the BBC Singers. Kaija Saariaho‘s “Innocence” took home the Large-Scale Composition award while Contemporary Music Festival’s {…}
(Photo Credit: Christophe-Abramowitz) The Opéra National de Paris has announced that this February it will inaugurate a new space in honor of composer Kaija Saariaho at the Opéra Bastille. Saariaho’s second opera, “Adriana Mater,” was commissioned by the company and had its world premiere in 2006 in a production By Peter Sellars. Additionally, the Opéra National de Paris showcased the {…}
A shortlist of this year’s Royal Philharmonic Society Award recipients has been released. For the purposes of this article only opera related nominees are included. The full list can be found here. Chamber-Scale Composition Nilufar Habibian – “Az nahāyate tāriki” (“From the deep end of darkness”) Conductor Alice Farnham; Alpesh Chauhan; François-Xavier Roth Ensemble BBC Singers; Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective Impact {…}
(Photo Credit: Scott Suchman) Throughout this new series, we will be looking at the history of American opera beginning in the 2000s to the present through a revisit of certain iconic works of the decade and OperaWire’s coverage of them throughout the 21st century. In this first part, we will look at the development of American opera during the 2000s, {…}
Voices of Silicon Valley is set to present the world premiere of a new work by Cyril Deaconoff this fall in partnership with the San Jose Museum of Art. The new work will be dedicated to the Mexican American artist Yolanda Lopez and her “Guadalupe” series; Lopez’s work is currently being exhibited at the San Jose Museum of Art. In {…}
Photo credit: Zan Wimberley “earth.voice.body” will be presented by Carriageworks from Sept. 28 – Oct. 7. The triple bill of new solo works by resident company Sydney Chamber Opera features a new Australian work, a radical interpretation of a 20th century classic, and a major work by a leading 21st century international composer. The program is reflects the major musical {…}
(Credit: Credit: Brittany Hosea-Small) Kaija Saariaho died in early June 2023. Her opera, “Adriana Mater,” opened at San Francisco Symphony a few days later. The semi-staged performance seemed like a ritual itself to honor the noted Finnish composer. The story of human suffering in war was conducted by San Francisco’s Music Director, Esa-Pekka Salonen, with depth and finesse. Four singers {…}
The Metropolitan Opera has announced that it will present Kaija Saariaho’s “Innocence” during the 2025-26 season. In a tribute statement to the composer, who died on June 2, the company said, “The Met mourns the loss of eminent Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, who recently passed away at age 70. Saariaho made Met history in 2016 with the company premiere of {…}
(Photo Copyright: Priska Ketterer Luzern) Known as a luminary and artistic visionary in the acoustically-focused style of “spectralism,” a creative approach towards synthesizing technological processing and the human voice, along with her profound interest in culture, philosophy, and literature, Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023) is a musical icon. Pushing the limits of what music could do and achieve as an {…}
