Saariaho's Innocence Arrives at the Metropolitan Opera
Will the 21st century Masterpiece Succeed in New York
By: Susan Hall - Apr 02, 2026
Innocence, a twenty-first century masterpiece, has its Metropolitan Opera debut on April 6. Many of the artists attached to the world premiere in Aix five years ago come with this production, first and foremost, the composer Kaija Saariaho.
In this work, she moves away from her spectral composition revealing shimmering notes between notes and hidden overtones than she has relied on in the past. is dense and colorful.
The set created by Chloe Lamford for the original production is a distinctive, rotating two-story structure that moves you through space (the school and a banquet room) and time (the present and ten years earlier). The wedding banquet often appears as The Last Supper in its long horizontality.
Simon Stone, the brilliant director, praises the Metropolitan Opera’s stagehands for moving this dramatic set continuously and quietly throughout the production. It fulfills the composer’s wish to have all the characters on stage at once. Nine languages are spoken in the production. Aleksi Barriere , billed as co-librettist and dramaturg, is s a linguist supreme in organizing the feeling of a world in words. There is even a special Finnish folk singer, Vilma Jaa, whose voice mixes with the spoken language of the teacher and the lyricism of the ‘innocents’ like the bride (Jacquelyn Stucker).
Susanna Mälkki was close to thecomposer and conducts her work with a special touch.
Simon Stone, the director, is just what opera needs. He is able through a variety of script writing techniques (including material withheld from singers and actors until the last moment) to create the feeling of ‘present.’ This is challenging for artists who demand perfection of themselves, like Joyce DiDonato, one of the leads in this production. In her breakthrough role as Dido in Berlioz’ The Trojans, you can hear the emotion of her character punch through the perfection. It is thrilling. Innocence offers this opportunity again.
At a recent event, evident friction erupted between the Met’s general director and several of the artists involved in the production. Let’s hope it does not interfere with the work’s new production at the Met.