''La Passion de Simone'' is an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

(or

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

) composed by Kaija Saariaho to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Amin Maalouf Amin Maalouf (; ar, أمين معلوف; born 25 February 1949) is a Lebanese-born French"Amin ...

, first premiered in a staging by

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where ...

. The work, subtitled "a musical journey in 15 stations", centers on the life and writings of

Simone Weil Simone Adolphine Weil ( , ; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. Over 2,500 scholarly works have been published about her, including close analyses and readings of her work, since 1995. ...

and was conceived in the Passion Play tradition with episodes in her life linked to the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

. It is composed for SATB chorus,

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

soloist, spoken voice, orchestra and electronic instruments.

Performance history

''La Passion de Simone'' was commissioned jointly by the New Crowned Hope festival in Vienna, the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

, the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

, and the

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

. It had its world premiere on 26 November 2006 at the Jugendstiltheater in Vienna as part of Peter Sellars' New Crowned Hope festival. The world premiere performers were the Klangforum Wien orchestra conducted by

Susanna Mälkki Susanna Ulla Marjukka Mälkki (born 13 March 1969) is a Finnish conductor and cellist. Early life and education Susanna Ulla Marjukka Mälkki was born on 13 March 1969 in Helsinki. She began to learn the violin, piano, and cello in her youth ...

; the

Arnold Schoenberg Choir The Arnold Schoenberg Choir (german: Arnold Schoenberg Chor) is a Viennese/Austrian choir which was founded 1972 by Erwin Ortner, who is still its artistic director. The choir has a high reputation both among conductors and among critics and the ...

conducted by

Erwin Ortner Erwin Ortner (born 15 December 1947, in Vienna) is an Austrian conductor, especially of vocal music. He is the founder and artistic director of the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. References External links * * Erwin OrtnerArnold Schoenberg Chor ...

; Finnish soprano as the narrator; as the silent dancer (a directorial addition by Sellars), and

Dominique Blanc Dominique Blanc (born 25 April 1956) is a French actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''May Fools'' (1990), '' Indochine'' (1992), '' La Reine Margot'' (1994), ''Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train'' (1998), and '' The Other One'' ...

as the voice of Simone Weil. The work had its United Kingdom premiere at the Barbican Centre, London in July 2007 and its US premiere in August 2008 at the Lincoln Center, New York City, as part of the Mostly Mozart Festival. Unlike previous performances, the French premiere at the Opéra Bastille in June 2009 was performed without Sellars' staging. Nevertheless, Dawn Upshaw, for whom the role of the narrator was originally written, performed in all three premieres.

Chamber version (2013)

On a suggestion by director Aleksi Barrière and conductor Clément Mao-Takacs, the composer created a chamber version of the piece that has been more popular (both in terms of critical response and number of productions) than the original. It is the same length as the original version and the soloist's vocal line and the spoken text are unchanged. But the orchestration is for 19 musicians and uses no electronic elements, and four solo voices replace the SATB chorus –a feature that Saariaho later reused and developed in her opera '' Only the Sound Remains'', which she started composing soon after completing the arrangement of ''La Passion de Simone''. This chamber version was premiered on 14 November 2013 in Bratislava, in the framework of the Melos-Ethos Festival for Contemporary Music, in a production conceived and realized by the French music theatre company La Chambre aux échos. The main character was performed by soprano , accompanied by a vocal quartet and an actress, and the chamber ensemble Secession Orchestra, conducted by Clément Mao-Takacs. The stage direction was devised by Aleksi Barrière. This "poignant production", which has been described as "superb in every sense" by the press, has since toured worldwide with soprano Sayuri Araida in the main role, and was performed as the local premiere of the chamber version in France, Finland and the USA among others. Other stage productions were eventually created of this chamber version, among which: a new staging by

starring Julia Bullock ( Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2015;

Ojai Music Festival The Ojai Music Festival is an annual classical music festival in the United States. Held in Ojai, California (75 miles northwest of Los Angeles), for four days every June, the festival presents music, symposia, and educational programs emphasizi ...

, 2016); the Australian premiere performance by

Sydney Chamber Opera Sydney Chamber Opera is an opera company based in Sydney, Australia. It is a resident company at Carriageworks. The company was founded in 2010 by Louis Garrick and Jack Symonds. Its first production was in February 2011 and has since produced ...

at the

Carriageworks Carriageworks is a multi-arts urban cultural precinct located at the former Eveleigh Railway Workshops in Redfern, Sydney, Australia. Carriageworks showcases contemporary art and performing arts, as well as being used for filming, festivals, fa ...

for the 2019

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney that runs for three weeks every January, since it was established in 1977. The festival program features in excess of 100 events from local and international artists an ...

, with soprano

Jane Sheldon Jane Sheldon is a Sydney-born Australian soprano, largely based in New York City. She was nominated for the 2013 ARIA Award for ARIA Award for Best Classical Album, Best Classical Album for the album ''North + South'' which was recorded with Genev ...

, conducted by Jack Symonds and directed by Imara Savage;"Meditations on a life of grace"
by Matthew Westwood, ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'', 7 January 2019 and a semi-staged performance conceived by conductor Christian Karlsen with Anne Sofie von Otter (

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side ...

, 2020).

References

General references

*Clements, Andrew
"La Passion de Simone"
(review of the UK premiere), ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 12 July 2007. Accessed 15 November 2008. * Midgette, Anne
"An Earnest Meditation on a Life Devoted to Human Suffering"
(review of the world premiere), ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 29 November 2006. Accessed 15 November 2008. *Saariaho, Kaija
Programme Notes for ''La Passion de Simone''

Chester Novello Wise Music Group is a global music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. In February 2020, Wise Music Group changed its name from The Music Sales Group. In 2014 Wise Music Group (as The Music Sales Group) acquired French cla ...

music publishers. Accessed 14 November 2008. *

Tommasini, Anthony Anthony Carl Tommasini (born April 14, 1948) is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read", Tommasini was the chief ...

"Contemplations on the Life of Simone Weil, in a Range of Somber Hues"
(review of the US premiere), ''The New York Times'', 14 August 2008. Accessed 15 November 2008.

External links

Work details (original version)Work details (chamber version)Work details (chamber version)
including score preview, Chester Novello {{DEFAULTSORT:Passion de Simone, La Compositions by Kaija Saariaho Oratorios Works by Amin Maalouf Music commissioned by the Barbican Centre Music commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic 2006 compositions