A primeira ópera da finlandesa Kaija Saariaho (www.saariaho.org), em cinco actos, foi estreada no Festival de Salzburg de 2000.
Desde logo se impôs como uma obra fundamental do e para o novo milénio. Mas mais do que isso: esta imensa obra (dura pouco mais de duas horas mas é "imensa") é, em meu entender, mais uma incontornável de toda a história da música.
L'amour de Loin é uma obra com libreto de Amin Maalouf, escritor libanês que escreve em françês, onde Kaija consegue fabulosos equilibrios graças ao seu génio, claro está, mas também a uma muito inteligente orquestração.
Esta impressionante obra encontra-se agora em dvd, com uma explêndida direcção musical de Esa-Pekka Salonen à frente dos excelentes côro e orquestra da Ópera Nacional da Finlândia. Há absolutamente que destacar a interpretação da soprano Dawn Upshaw que consegue transmitir toda a densidade e dramatismo desta criação fora-de-série.
Falta dizer que se trata também de uma obra de arte da realização em vídeo: o director é nada mais nada menos que Peter Sellars. O cenário e os figurinos são sóbrios e fantásticos! AST
L’AMOUR DE LOIN
DISTRIBUTION
JAUFRÉ RUDEL, prince de Blaye et Troubadour (baryton)
CLÉMENCE, comtesse de Tripoli (soprano)
LE PÈLERIN (mezzo-soprano)
Au XIIe siècle, en Aquitaine, à Tripoli et en mer.
Acte I - Jaufré Rudel, prince de Blaye, s’est lassé de la vie de plaisirs des jeunes gens de son rang. Il aspire à un amour différent, lointain, qu’il est résigné à ne jamais voir satisfait. Ses anciens compagnons, en choeur, lui reprochent ce changement et le moquent. Ils lui disent que la femme qu’il chante n’existe pas. Mais un pèlerin, arrivé d’Outremer, affirme qu’une telle femme existe, et qu’il l’a rencontrée. Jaufré ne pensera plus qu’à elle.
Acte II - Reparti en Orient, le Pèlerin rencontre la comtesse de Tripoli, et lui avoue qu’en Occident, un prince-troubadour la célèbre dans ses chansons en l’appelant son "amour de loin". D’abord offusquée, la dame se met à rêver de cet amoureux étrange et lointain, mais elle se demande aussi si elle mérite une telle dévotion.
Acte III - Premier tableau. Revenu à Blaye, le Pèlerin rencontre Jaufré et lui avoue que la dame sait désormais qu’il la chante. Ce qui décide le troubadour à se rendre en personne auprès d’elle. Second tableau. Clémence, de son côté, semble préférer que leur relation demeure ainsi lointaine. Elle ne veut pas vivre dans l’attente, elle ne veut pas souffrir.
Acte IV - Parti en mer, Jaufré est impatient de retrouver son "amour de loin", mais en même temps il redoute cette rencontre. Il regrette d’être parti sur un coup de tête, et son angoisse est telle qu’il en tombe malade, de plus en plus malade à mesure qu’il s’approche de Tripoli. Il y arrive mourant...
Acte V - Quand le bateau accoste, le Pèlerin s’en va prévenir Clémence que Jaufré est là, mais qu’il est au plus mal, et qu’il demande à la voir. Le troubadour arrive à la citadelle de Tripoli inconscient, porté sur une civière. En présence de la femme qu’il a chantée, il reprend peu à peu ses esprits. Les deux "amants de loin" se rencontrent alors, et l’approche du malheur leur fait brûler les étapes. Ils s’avouent leur passion, se tiennent, promettent de s’aimer... Quand Jaufré meurt dans ses bras, Clémence se révolte contre le Ciel, puis, s’estimant responsable du drame qui vient de se produire, elle décide d’entrer au couvent. La dernière scène la montre en prière, mais ses paroles sont ambiguës et l’on ne sait pas très bien qui prie-t-elle à genoux, son Dieu lointain, ou bien son "amour de loin". www.schirmer.com/amour/indexf.html
Kaija Saariaho
The Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho (born 1952) has lived and worked in Paris since 1982. She studied composition under Paavo Heininen at the Sibelius Academy and later at the Musikhochschule in Freiburg with Brian Ferneyhough and Klaus Huber, receiving her diploma there in 1983. In 1982 she attended courses in computer music at IRCAM in Paris, since when the computer has been an important element of her composing technique.
In 1986 she was awarded the Kranichsteiner Preis at the new music summer courses in Darmstadt, and in 1988 the Prix Italia, for her work Stilleben. In 1989 Stilleben and Io were awarded the Ars Electronica Prize. More recently, in 2000 she received both the Nordic Music Prize (for Lonh) and the Stoeger Award of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (in recognition of outstanding services to chamber music).
She achieved international reputation with works that include Verblendungen (orchestra and tape, 1982-84), Lichtbogen for chamber ensemble and electronics (1985-96), Nymphéa (1987) for string quartet and electronics, a commission from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet), and two linked orchestral works Du Cristal and ...à la fumée premiered in 1990 and 1991 both in Helsinki and Los Angeles. Saariaho has also taken part in a number of multimedia productions such as the full-length ballet Maa (1991) and a pan-European collaborative project to produce a CD-ROM Prisma about her life and work.
More recent works include a violin concerto, Graal Théâtre, for Gidon Kremer premiered at the 1995 BBC Proms and two pieces for Dawn Upshaw: an orchestral song cycle, Château de l'âme, premiered at the 1996 Salzburg Festival, and a solo song cycle Lonh for soprano and electronics, premiered at the 1996 Wien Modern Festival. Lonh was awarded the Nordic Music Prize in 2000. In 1999 Saariaho completed a major work for chorus and orchestra, Oltra mar, which was premiered by the New York Philharmonic and Kurt Masur on 11th November 1999, as part of their millennium series of commissions.
These last three projects point to Kaija Saariaho's next major work: her first opera, L'amour de loin. A co-commission from the Salzburg Festival and Théâtre du Châtelet, L'amour de loin is based on "La Vida breve" of Jaufre Rudel, Prince of Blaye, one of the first great troubadours of the 12th century. The libretto has been written by the French-Lebanese author Amin Maalouf. L'amour de loin was premiered on 15th August 2000 at the Salzburg Festival, directed by Peter Sellars and with a cast including Dawn Upshaw, Dagmar Peckova and Dwayne Croft. The orchestra of SWR Baden-Baden was conducted by Kent Nagano. Théâtre du Châtelet, and Stadttheater Bern will produce the work at the end of 2001, and the US premiere will be given by Santa Fe opera in summer 2002.
In 2001 Kaija Saariaho was awarded the Rolf Schock Prize (Sweden) and the Kaske Prize (Germany). Saariaho's music is available on the Finlandia, Ondine, Wergo, Neuma and BIS record labels. Her CD-ROM Prisma is now available for purchase via her website: www.petals.org www.schirmer.com/composers/saariaho/bio.html
