Performance - Innocence

Acclaimed by the New York Times as a “masterpiece.”

Innocence

By Kaija Saariaho, Sofi Oksanen and Aleksi Barrière

Healing at the Edge of Tragedy.

A joyous wedding celebration takes a shocking turn when the darkest of secrets is revealed and a young bride faces an impossible decision. 

Stela, Lilian Farahani, believes she’s found love with her new husband, played by Miles Mykkanen. But amid the joy of their wedding reception, a waitress recognizes the groom as the brother of a gunman in a school shooting ten years ago. And the bride doesn’t know.

Among the community of surviving students, teachers and families is the waitress, Ruxandra Donose, haunted by the memory of her slain daughter, ethereally rendered by Finnish multi-genre artist Vilma Jää.

Acclaimed by the New York Times as a “masterpiece,” Innocence takes us into the complex emotional journey of a group of people recovering from inconceivable trauma. In a gripping drama, the work of Kaija Saariaho, Sofi Oksanen and Aleksi Barrière unfolds a harrowing story of emotional shock and surprise in which our understanding of innocence and guilt is continually upended.

Saariaho’s score, rich in translucent textures, is an extraordinary arc from the raw and visceral, to the otherworldly in which time moves in altered states. Simon Stone’s cinematic production propels us through our response to tragedy, leaving us with hope for the resilience of the human spirit.

Premiered in Aix-en-Provence in 2021 and making its highly-anticipated American premiere in San Francisco, Innocence makes clear the power of the opera stage to explore critical stories in uniquely impactful ways. Saariaho specialist Clément Mao-Takacs leads an international cast of singers and actors in this towering work sung and spoken in nine languages, co-commissioned by San Francisco Opera.

Synopsis

The story occurs across two timelines. A wedding is being celebrated in Helsinki in the 2000s; in the world of memory, seven people recount a traumatic event they experienced ten years earlier. The connection between these realities is gradually revealed.

We are at a wedding reception in Helsinki, Finland. Stela met Tuomas while he was vacationing in Romania, and she’s fallen in love not only with Tuomas but also his country Finland, a country of apparent peaceful harmony. Tuomas’ parents are relieved that he is moving forward with his life, but they cannot agree whether she should be told the truth about a horrific tragedy ten years prior. The tragedy starts emerging through the memories of six students and a teacher from an International High School.

One of the waitresses at the wedding reception has fallen ill, and a Czech waitress, Tereza, has been called in. As she arrives, she realizes with horror that she recognizes the family. The groom is the brother of a mass shooter at the International High School in which Tereza’s daughter, Markéta, was brutally killed, ten years ago.

As the memories of the students bring us into the reality of the tragedy, Tereza must decide if she confronts the family, and the family must decide if they bring Stela into the truth. But the truth is not as straightforward as we might initially believe.

The story is intended to unfold in real-time as we experience it as audience members. The full synopsis can be found here, but please note that it does include plot spoilers.

PRE-OPERA TALKS

San Francisco Conservatory of Music faculty member Alla Gladysheva will provide a 20-minute overview of the opera 55 minutes prior to each performance in the Opera House auditorium for ticketholders. An audio recording of the talk will be available at sfopera.com/innocence.

TICKETS AND INFORMATION

Tickets for Innocence range from $26 to $426 and are available at the San Francisco Opera Box Office (301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco), by calling (415) 864-3330 and online at sfopera.com. San Francisco Opera Box Office hours are Monday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.–6 p.m. (Saturdays phone only). A $2 per-ticket facility fee is included in Balcony 1, 2 and 3 zone prices; all other zones include a $3 per-ticket facility fee.

Subscriptions for all three summer operas—including Mozart’s The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte)and Handel’s Partenope—are priced from $78 to $1,245.

Tickets for the June 12 livestream of Innocence are $27.50 each. For more information, visit sfopera.com/digital/livestream.