TULLY POTTER reviews Innocence at the Royal Opera House

Innocence (Royal Opera House) ****

Added poignancy was lent to the first night of Kaija Saariaho’s new opera by news of the latest mass shooting of young people in the United States.

The plot of Innocence, a mesh of guilt, accusation and our old friends secrets and lies, has at its heart a school shooting ten years ago, in which ten children and a teacher died.

As the action unravels, details are laid bare until we see that no one, whether perpetrator, victim or survivor, was truly ‘innocent’.

Waitress Tereza (Jenny Carlstedt), who lost her daughter Marketa in the massacre, is asked at the last moment to help out at a wedding — and realises that the family involved are the parents and brother of the shooter.

Marketa (Vilma Jaa) appears as a ghost throughout the action and through her, telling points are made — I would not want to spoil any surprises. Other students, still living, contribute to the tapestry, especially Iris (Julie Hega).

This is the sort of teamwork Wagner wanted, but less longwinded

Orchestrally, Saariaho’s music is effective, often haunting, but there is too much text. 

Although planned from the start by the Finnish creative team — including writers Sofi Oksanen and Aleksi Barriere — the gallimaufry of languages is unsettling. To have certain voices amplified is offputting.

Saariaho writes some sympathetic vocal lines but others are ungrateful to sing, which means they come across as ungrateful to the listener. Lapses into the spoken word seem like cop-outs, more appropriate to a stage play.

Simon Stone’s production is first-rate, making good use of Chloe Lamford’s revolving set which can be anything from a wedding reception suite to a kitchen to a classroom to a male students’ restroom.

Carlstedt, Jaa and Hega are joined by other superb singers including Markus Nykanen (the bridegroom), Sandrine Piau and Christopher Purves (his parents), Lilian Farahani (the bride), Lucy Shelton (the teacher) and Timo Riihonen (the priest).

Susanna Malkki gives the members of the orchestra space in which to work their magic and the chorus — unseen until their curtain call — create much of the atmosphere. 

This is the sort of teamwork Wagner wanted, but less longwinded.