Kaija Saariaho and the Paris-based musical theatre group La Chambre aux échos’ stage oratorio La Passion de Simone will be moved from Easter to next summer’s Helsinki Festival due to the corona pandemic. La Passion de Simone will be performed at Helsinki’s Musiikkitalo from 30 to 31 August.
Tickets for the new performances are on sale and tickets purchased for the April performances are valid for the new dates (Sun 12 April -> Sun 30 August and Mon 13 April -> Mon 31 August). If the new date is not suitable, Ticketmaster will refund the ticket price to the purchaser.
The home audience can enjoy the version of La Passion de Simone filmed at Tampere Hall in March 2019 during Easter – Yle Teema Fem will broadcast the recording on Good Friday 10.4. at 12.00. The performance will also be available on Yle Arena at a later date.
La Passion de Simone is an oratorio based on the ideas, life and struggle against injustice and inequality in the world of French philosopher Simone Weil(1909-1943). The young woman at the centre of the story admires Simone, while questioning her radical intransigence. Compositionally based on Bach’s passions, the work can be experienced as a collective meditation led by soprano Sayuri Araida, actress Isabelle Seleskovitch and a vocal quartet.
The Paris-based musical theatre group La Chambre aux échos commissioned a chamber orchestra version of La Passion de Simone and premiered it on 14 November 2013 at the Melos-Ethos festival in Bratislava, Slovakia. The production has since travelled to festivals (Saint-Denis, Bergen, Njord, Lublin), New York, Paris, Copenhagen and various opera houses in France.
In addition to La Chambre aux échos, the Finnish chamber orchestra Avanti! The conductor is Saariaho specialist Clément Mao-Takacs. The stage director is Aleksi Barrière.
Kaija Saariaho
composition
Amin Maalouf
libretto
Clément Mao-Takacs
conductor
Aleksi Barrière
steering
Chamber Orchestra Avanti!
Sayuri Araida
soprano soloist
Isabelle Seleskovitch
actress
Sandra Darcel (soprano)
vocal quartet
Marianne Seleskovitch (mezzo-soprano)
vocal quartet
Johan Viau (tenor)
vocal quartet
Romain Dayez (bass baritone)
vocal quartet
