Last April, I watched Kaija Saariaho’s opera Innocence at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, which received strong critical acclaim.
© Metropolitan Opera
According to the dramaturgical notes, Saariaho drew inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. She wanted to bring into the opera the structure of 13 figures seated around a table, each reacting differently to one massive shock depending on their background. She also used Richard Strauss’s Elektra and Alban Berg’s Wozzeck as musical and emotional models.
Although the work was completed in 2018, its premiere was delayed due to COVID-19, and it had its world premiere at the 2021 Aix-en-Provence Festival. For this Met production, conductor Susanna Mälkki and director Simon Stone, who led the original premiere, reunited to recreate the original staging.
<Innocence>, Metropolitan Opera, © Karen Almond, Metropolitan Opera
: Stage table reminiscent of The Last Supper
The opera is about a fictional school shooting at an international school in Helsinki, and the story 10 years later. On the wedding day of Thomas (the shooter’s younger brother) and Stella (the bride), Tereza appears as a member of the serving staff. Tereza is the mother who lost her daughter in the shooting. When she recognizes Thomas's parents, buried truths begin to surface. As the opera progresses, memories reveal that Thomas was close to being an accomplice, having practiced shooting with the perpetrator before the crime. In the end, Thomas realizes he cannot escape his guilt and breaks off the engagement.
<Innocence>, Metropolitan Opera, © Karen Almond, Metropolitan Opera
A two-story revolving building on stage moves the story between the past classroom and the present wedding hall. Set in an international school, students from different countries speak and sing in their native languages. This reflects the 13-figure composition of The Last Supper and delivers the characters’ emotions directly to the audience without language barriers.
The strange song sung by Marketa, the murdered daughter who wanders the stage as a ghost, keeps the opera tense throughout. Sung in a folk singing style rather than a traditional operatic voice, she stands out at the center of the stage and received the biggest applause. This combination of sound and casting shows new possibilities for modern opera direction.
Innocence left a heavy psychological impact, but also gave the immersion of watching a film. It exposes the social system that ignored the warning signs, the adults who did nothing, and the classmates who bullied the perpetrator. In the end, the message is clear. In front of this tragedy, no one is completely innocent.
<Innocence>, Metropolitan Opera, © Kathi
In the upcoming 2026/2027 season, this work will be staged in new productions at several theaters in Germany.
- Theater Bremen / September–November 2026 / Premiere / Marco Štorman
- Theater Heidelberg / February 2027 / Premiere / Dagmar Schlingmann
- Oper Leipzig / March–May 2027 / Premiere / Elisabeth Stöppler
