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- Kaija Saariaho
L'Amour de loin (2000)
(L'Amour de loin)- Chester Music Ltd (World)
Co-commission Salzburg Festival, Theatre du Châtelet and Santa Fe Opera
opera in 5 acts
- 4(afl,pic,afl,pic).3(ca).3(bcl).3(cbn)/4.2.3.1/timp.4perc/hp.pf(kbd)/str(recommended 14.12.10.8.6)/electronics (see 'More Info')
- SATB 8.8.8.8
- Soprano, Mezzo soprano, Baritone
- 2 hr
- Amin Maalouf
- French
Programme Note
PROGRAMME NOTE
Kaija Saariaho’s first opera, L’amour de loin, was premiered in Salzburg in August 2000 and the same production was given at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris inNovember/December 2001, and in Santa Fe, summer 2002.
The libretto has been written by French-Lebanese author Amin Maalouf. Since 1976, Maalouf has been living in France, where he was editor of the “Jeune Afrique” magazine, travelling as a journalist to around sixty countries. In 1983, he began to be known as an author, with the success of novels such as Léon l’Africain and Samarkand. His book Le Rocher de Tanios from 1993 was awarded the Prix Goncourt.
The story of the opera L’amour de loin is based on “La Vida breve” of Jaufre Rudel, Prince of Blaye, one of the first great troubadours of the 12th century. His glowing passion for a woman from the East of whom he has only heard is the central theme of the libretto.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS
L’Amour de loin is based on La Vida breve, by the great twelfth-century troubador, Jaufré Rudel, Prince of Blaye. Tired of the superficiality of life enjoyed by young men of his rank, Jaufré dreams of an idealised and distant love. Contrary to his expectations, a Pilgrim arrived from the Christian Kingdom of Outre-Mer, claims that he knows of such a woman – Clémence, Countess of Tripoli. Jaufré becomes obsessed with her and decides to travel to meet her. Meanwhile, Clémence has heard of the devotion of this Prince from a faraway land. Initially suspicious, she soon is haunted by dreams of her distant lover. However Jaufré’s voyage is hard and by the time he arrives in Tripoli, he is gravely ill. The lovers meet and declare their passion just before Jaufré dies.
FULL SYNOPSIS
12th century, in Aquitaine, Tripolo and at sea
Act 1
Jaufré Rudel, Prince of Blaye, has become weary of the pleasures of life led by the young people of his rank. He longs for a different love, faraway, a love which he has resigned himself never to be realised. His former companions, as a choir, reproach him with this change and laugh at him. They tell him that the woman he sings about does not exist. But a pilgrim, arrived from overseas, asserts that such a woman does indeed exist and that he has met her. From then on, Jaufré will think only of her.
Act II
Having returned to the Orient the Pilgrim meets the countess of Tripoli and confesses that in the Occident, a prince-troubadour extols her in his songs, calling her his “love from afar”. Offended at first, the lady begins to dream of this strange and faraway lover, but she also asks herself if she deserves such devotion.
Act III
First Scene – Back in Blaye, the Pilgrim meets Jaufré and avows to him that the lady now knows that he sings about her. This decides the troubadour to go to meet her.
Second Scene – Clémence, for her part, seems to prefer that their relationship remains distant. She does not want to live waiting, she does not want to suffer.
Act IV
Gone to sea, Jaufré is impatient to meet his “love from afar”, but at the same time he dreads this meeting. He regrets having left on impulse, and his anguish is so strong that he falls ill, more and more ill as he approaches Tripoli. He arrives there dying…
Act V
When the ships berths, the Pilgrim hurries to inform the countess that Jaufré has arrived but that he is close to death and asks to see her. The troubadour is brought to the citadel of Tripoli unconscious, carried on a stretcher. In the presence of the woman of whom he has sung, he gradually recovers his senses. The two “Lovers from afar” then meet and the approaching tragedy compels them to act in haste. They confess their passion, hold and promise to love each other … When Jaufré dies in her arms, Clémence rebels against Heaven, and then, considering herself responsible for the tragedy, she decides to enter a convent. The last scene shows her in prayer, but her words are ambiguous and it is not clear to whom she is praying on her knees: her faraway God or her “Love from afar”.
CAST
Clémence, Comtesse de Tripoli- soprano
Le Pèlerin- mezzo-soprano
Jaufré Rudel- baritone
Prince de Blaye et Troubadoure-baritone
FULL INFORMATION ON THE ELECTRONICS, please click here
Kaija Saariaho’s first opera, L’amour de loin, was premiered in Salzburg in August 2000 and the same production was given at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris inNovember/December 2001, and in Santa Fe, summer 2002.
The libretto has been written by French-Lebanese author Amin Maalouf. Since 1976, Maalouf has been living in France, where he was editor of the “Jeune Afrique” magazine, travelling as a journalist to around sixty countries. In 1983, he began to be known as an author, with the success of novels such as Léon l’Africain and Samarkand. His book Le Rocher de Tanios from 1993 was awarded the Prix Goncourt.
The story of the opera L’amour de loin is based on “La Vida breve” of Jaufre Rudel, Prince of Blaye, one of the first great troubadours of the 12th century. His glowing passion for a woman from the East of whom he has only heard is the central theme of the libretto.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS
L’Amour de loin is based on La Vida breve, by the great twelfth-century troubador, Jaufré Rudel, Prince of Blaye. Tired of the superficiality of life enjoyed by young men of his rank, Jaufré dreams of an idealised and distant love. Contrary to his expectations, a Pilgrim arrived from the Christian Kingdom of Outre-Mer, claims that he knows of such a woman – Clémence, Countess of Tripoli. Jaufré becomes obsessed with her and decides to travel to meet her. Meanwhile, Clémence has heard of the devotion of this Prince from a faraway land. Initially suspicious, she soon is haunted by dreams of her distant lover. However Jaufré’s voyage is hard and by the time he arrives in Tripoli, he is gravely ill. The lovers meet and declare their passion just before Jaufré dies.
FULL SYNOPSIS
12th century, in Aquitaine, Tripolo and at sea
Act 1
Jaufré Rudel, Prince of Blaye, has become weary of the pleasures of life led by the young people of his rank. He longs for a different love, faraway, a love which he has resigned himself never to be realised. His former companions, as a choir, reproach him with this change and laugh at him. They tell him that the woman he sings about does not exist. But a pilgrim, arrived from overseas, asserts that such a woman does indeed exist and that he has met her. From then on, Jaufré will think only of her.
Act II
Having returned to the Orient the Pilgrim meets the countess of Tripoli and confesses that in the Occident, a prince-troubadour extols her in his songs, calling her his “love from afar”. Offended at first, the lady begins to dream of this strange and faraway lover, but she also asks herself if she deserves such devotion.
Act III
First Scene – Back in Blaye, the Pilgrim meets Jaufré and avows to him that the lady now knows that he sings about her. This decides the troubadour to go to meet her.
Second Scene – Clémence, for her part, seems to prefer that their relationship remains distant. She does not want to live waiting, she does not want to suffer.
Act IV
Gone to sea, Jaufré is impatient to meet his “love from afar”, but at the same time he dreads this meeting. He regrets having left on impulse, and his anguish is so strong that he falls ill, more and more ill as he approaches Tripoli. He arrives there dying…
Act V
When the ships berths, the Pilgrim hurries to inform the countess that Jaufré has arrived but that he is close to death and asks to see her. The troubadour is brought to the citadel of Tripoli unconscious, carried on a stretcher. In the presence of the woman of whom he has sung, he gradually recovers his senses. The two “Lovers from afar” then meet and the approaching tragedy compels them to act in haste. They confess their passion, hold and promise to love each other … When Jaufré dies in her arms, Clémence rebels against Heaven, and then, considering herself responsible for the tragedy, she decides to enter a convent. The last scene shows her in prayer, but her words are ambiguous and it is not clear to whom she is praying on her knees: her faraway God or her “Love from afar”.
CAST
Clémence, Comtesse de Tripoli- soprano
Le Pèlerin- mezzo-soprano
Jaufré Rudel- baritone
Prince de Blaye et Troubadoure-baritone
FULL INFORMATION ON THE ELECTRONICS, please click here
Media
Kaija Saariaho: L'Amour de loin
Finley, Groop, Usphaw, Sellars, Finnish National Opera & Chorus, Salonen
L'amour de loin at the Met in New York in 2016/17
Scores
Full score
Vocal score in French
Dual-language vocal score in French/English
Features
- Kaija Saariaho’s Poetic Montages
- From the very beginning of her career as a composer, Kaija Saariaho has turned to poetry as a material and inspiration for her music. The forms and logics of poetry have played a defining role in her output since then.
- Visual Operas
- Directors and visual artists increasingly devise innovative approaches for the presentation of opera. The past decade has been no exception, with several works from the Wise Music Catalogue finding their way into the theatre and concert hall, accompanied by compelling visuals.
Reviews
Discography
More Info
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