Kaija Saariaho in the Documentary 'Miten syntyi Adriana mater'

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Documentary - The Genesis of Adriana Mater, by Per Nygren

Adriana Mater

Adriana Mater is the second opera by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, with 

a libretto in French by her frequent collaborator, Amin Maalouf. The National 

Opera of Paris and the Finnish National Opera jointly commissioned the opera. 

It received its world premiere at the Opéra Bastille on 3 April 2006 in a 

production directed by Peter Sellars. The production was dedicated to Gerard 

Mortier, Artistic Director of the National Opera of Paris.

The opera’s Finnish premiere took place on 23 February 2008 in Helsinki. The 

opera received its UK premiere in a concert performance on 24 April 2008 and 

its US premiere took place at the Santa Fe Opera on 26 July 2008 with Groop 

and Freund in their original roles.

Saariaho used memories of her own first pregnancy as part of the inspiration 

for the opera. Maalouf utilised his memories of being a war correspondent and 

his awareness of contemporary political and religious conflicts as themes in the 

opera.

                                                                             --- wikipedia -----

Kaija Saariaho, photo Esa Jaske.
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