Kaija Saariaho's shattering new opera makes its long-awaited UK debut, directed by Simon Stone.
In modern-day Finland, an oddly subdued wedding is underway. When the Waitress is taken ill, memories stir of a school tragedy from ten years ago, forcing everyone to confront the trauma of the past.
Set to music of ‘sublime terror’ (The New Yorker) by Kaija Saariaho, Sofi Oksanen’s multi-layered libretto explores the legacy of violence and its ripple-effect across the years. The long-awaited premiere of Innocence promises to be an unmissable event, with a starkly dramatic staging by Simon Stone, director of Yerma (2016) at the Young Vic and The Dig (2021), and conducted by Susanna Mälkki in her House debut.
