KAIJA SAARIAHO (b. 1952)

 

L'amour de loin - Love from Afar

 

Opera in 5 acts, libretto by Amin Maalouf

 

Daniel Belcher - tenor (Jaufré Rudel)

Ekaterina Lekhina - soprano (Clémence)

Marie-Ange Todorovitch – mezzo soprano (Le Pèlerin)

 

Rundfunkchor Berlin; Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Kent Nagano

 

Coproduction between Théâtre du Châtelet, Rundfunk-Orchester &-Chöre GmbH Berlin with the support of the Fondation Pierre Bergé / Yves Saint Laurent recorded 6-9 march 2006, Teldex Studio Berlin, 9-21/10 2008, Bavaria Musik-Studios Munich

 

To coincide with a new production of Kaija Saariaho's opera, L'amour de loin, at English National Opera, directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca and directed by Ed Gardner, harmonia mundi release Kent Nagano's new recording. Theatrical Magic director Daniele Finzi Pasca is part of the extraordinary new circus revolution which has transformed the art form in recent years. He created Corteo for Cirque du Soleil. For Cirque Éloize his Rain was a sell-out success on Broadway. He also created the Closing Ceremony for the Turin Winter Olympics, 2006.

 

Composed to a libretto by Amin Maalouf and premièred at Salzburg in 2000 in a production by Peter Sellars, L'Amour de loin was described by the New York Times as the Best New Work of the Year in 2000. Kaija Saariaho's first opera follows a 12th-century troubadour's search for love across a constantly changing theatrical landscape. This reinterpretation of the medieval narrative of the life of Jaufré Rudel tackles a number of highly topical themes: love from afar, the virtuality of ideal love and relations between East and West.

 

"Saariaho's haunting and beautifully coloured score… is deeply personal and utterly accomplished." The New York Times

 

Harmonia Mundi 2SACDs HMC801937-38