INNOCENCE

The new opera Innocence delves into the aftermath of a school shooting. A topical tale of guilt, forgiveness and being haunted for life by traumatic events. Dutch National Opera presents the latest work by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, one of the most frequently performed contemporary composers in the world.

A mass shooting takes place at an international school. Ten years later, the shooter’s younger brother gets married and hopes to put this history behind him for good. However, the wedding turns into a confrontation with the past. Traumas that had been suppressed by all the individuals involved resurface, and the distinction between perpetrator and victim becomes increasingly blurred.

Opera in five acts and an epilogue
The main singing language is English, and additional languages are Finnish, Czech, French, Romanian, Swedish, German, Spanish and Greek

Libretto | Sofi Oksanen & Aleksi Barrière
Musical direction | Elena Schwarz
Stage direction and dramaturgy | Simon Stone
Set design | Chloe Lamford
Costume design | Mel Page
Lighting design | James Farncombe
Choreography | Arco Renz

The Waitress (Tereza) | Jenny Carlstedt
The Mother-in-Law (Patricia) | Lenneke Ruiten
The Father-in-Law (Henrik) | Thomas Oliemans
The Bride (Stela) | Lilian Farahani
The Bridegroom (Tuomas) | Markus Nykänen
The Priest | Frederik Bergman
The Teacher | Lucy Shelton

Markéta (student 1) | Vilma Jää
Lily (student 2) | My Johansson
Iris (student 3) | Julie Hega
Anton (student 4) | Rowan Kievits
Jerónimo (student 5) | Camilo Delgado Díaz
Alexia (student 6) | Olga Heikkilä
o.a. Shooter | Niels van Heijningen
o.a. Chef | Britt Scheltens
o.a. Student | Keerthi Basavarajaiah, Flory Curescu, Niels Gordijn, Evgenia Rubanova & Bao Tieu
o.a. Teacher | Nico Weggemans

Chorus of Dutch National Opera
Chorus Master | Edward Ananian-Cooper
Residentie Orkest The Hague

Composition commission and co-production  by Dutch National Opera, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Royal Opera House (London), Finnish National Opera and Ballet (Helsinki) and San Francisco Opera
In collaboration with The Metropolitan Opera (New York)