# L'Amour de Loin - first 21st Century operatic masterpiece



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I add my admirative voice to the universal praise that this opera and this production have received. This is a quite extraordinary work, folks, proving that opera is alive and well.










This is a winner in all levels. Dramatic impact, poetry, exquisite orchestration, good singing by good actors, strikingly beautiful visual imagery...

It's interesting to consider the longevity and endurance of this artform... when I think of how much I liked both Monteverdi's _L'Orfeo _from 1607, and Saariaho's _L'Amour de Loin _from 2000. That's 393 years of opera, and the artform is still alive and kicking.

Here is the New York Times review after the world première in Salzburg:

"A haunting and resonant work..._L'amour de loin_, the most important offering of this summer's ambitious Salzburg Festival, is an often transfixing and utterly distinguished work. The ovations were prolonged and deserved. Though it was not intended as such, _L'amour_ de loin provides a jolt of sanity amid the political conflicts that of late have been rattling the world, Austria in particular, over issues of nationality, immigration, the sanctity of borders, and the cultural gulf between the West and the East. Mr. Maalouf treats these themes in his effortlessly poetic text, one of the strongest librettos in some time. Idealized love is a well-worn theme, but Mr. Maalouf has found a fresh way to revisit it. Mr. Maalouf's words invite music, and Ms. Saariaho has provided a lushly beautiful score, structured in five continuous acts lasting two hours. Best known for her exploration of sound, Ms. Saariaho continues in the vein here with music that combines vivid orchestration, the subtle use of electronic instruments and imaginative, sometimes unearthly writing for chorus, which sings from the side of the stage. The vocal writing is by turns elegiac and conversational. Her harmonic language is tonally grounded, with frequent use of sustained low pedal tones, but not tonal. Bits of dissonance, piercing overtones and gently jarring electronic sound spike the undulant harmonies, but so subtly that the overall aural impression is of beguiling consonance. ...Her evocations of the troubadour songs, with medieval modal harmony and fragments of elegiac tunes, are marvelous."


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

Also, it has been reviewed on Opera on DVD thread, #354.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

I'm instrested in hearing this since many months. But it's not avaiable in online houses of thiefs that I know and not even in shops and lol, forget it, I just found it in online shop while writing this post 

Quite expensive (Salonen's DVD) but hopefully I will order it in forthcomig days after robbing some bank with Marcelin from pagan vastlands, Grubgark the One-eyed smasher of left legs and Jimmy


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Herkku said:


> Also, it has been reviewed on Opera on DVD thread, #354.


Sure, and thanks for your review, but this opera is such a landmark (it premiered in the year 2000) and so good that I thought it deserves its own thread, thus it is more prominently displayed to the members in order to encourage more people to get acquainted with it.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Aramis said:


> I'm instrested in hearing this since many months. But it's not avaiable in online houses of thiefs that I know and not even in shops and lol, forget it, I just found it in online shop while writing this post
> 
> Quite expensive (Salonen's DVD) but hopefully I will order it in forthcomig days after robbing some bank with Marcelin from pagan vastlands, Grubgark the One-eyed smasher of left legs and Jimmy


Hey, I can't believe that I beat you to a contemporary opera, LOL!
My copy was from Netflix so I didn't spend any extra $ to get it.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

> Hey, I can't believe that I beat you to a contemporary opera, LOL!


Well, I never claimed to be an expert in this case.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

This opera is the perfect answer to that question raised in another thread, "where are the women?" Well, Saariaho is one of the answers anyway, and she's kicking butt. I hope L'Amour de Loin will make it into our top 100.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> This opera is the perfect answer to that question raised in another thread, "where are the women?" Well, Saariaho is one of the answers anyway, and she's kicking butt. I hope L'Amour de Loin will make it into our top 100.


I'll certainly vote for it in the next chunk if it doesn't make it earlier than that.


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Almaviva said:


> I'll certainly vote for it in the next chunk if it doesn't make it earlier than that.


Um... yeah. 

Now I just need to make a thread about Enescu's Oedipe and I'll be all set!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

World Violist said:


> Um... yeah.
> 
> Now I just need to make a thread about Enescu's Oedipe and I'll be all set!


You know, this morning I got my copy of Enescu's Oedipe and was about to listen to it when I remembered that I had received L'Amour de Loin from Netflix yesterday, but couldn't watch it because we had friends over. Then I watched L'Amour de Loin instead... but may very well still listen to Oedipe this afternoon. I know I've been promising to do it and not delivering, but it's just that my unwatched/unlistened to pile is so big right now...


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

She seems to be an interesting composer, and I'm looking forward to getting my first taste of her music in a recital here in Sydney coming up in December...


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Now Andre... how is it that I have not only had a taste of Saariaho's music before you, but even purchased a few discs of her music already? I'm supposedly the musical reactionary. 
Seriously, I've been thinking about purchasing _L'Amour de Loin_ for some time and the positive comments here certainly pique my interest even more.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> I add my admirative voice to the universal praise that this opera and this production have received. This is a quite extraordinary work, folks, proving that opera is alive and well.
> 
> This is a winner in all levels. Dramatic impact, poetry, exquisite orchestration, good singing by good actors, strikingly beautiful visual imagery...


Good to see. Sounds like something that I could enjoy. (I honestly still have to yet discover a modern opera that I can happily say "I love it in every aspect"). All posters thus far (judging by their posts and general tastes in responses regarding opera) have relatively similar operatic tastes. (I know member Andre does not have much time for opera, which I respect).

Sounds like I could live with that.

_Her harmonic language is tonally grounded, with frequent use of sustained low pedal tones, but not tonal. Bits of dissonance, piercing overtones and gently jarring electronic sound spike the undulant harmonies, but so subtly that the overall aural impression is of beguiling consonance. ..._


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

A word of warning: don't let your expectations run too wild. There is a risk that you might find it just boring...


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Herkku said:


> A word of warning: don't let your expectations run too wild. There is a risk that you might find it just boring...


Thanks. No harm trying, really. I am a bit weary of the director Peter Sellars. He is on the notorious side. But this is a modern opera in every sense, so Sellar's stage works might well suit.

I was reading about Kaija Saariaho just now. Born 1952. Three operas under her name, with one premiering this year, _Emilie_ (2010). It really takes a lot of resources to stage any opera, let alone a modern unknown one, so there might well be something about Saariaho's works that deserve resources to be allocated for its productions.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> Now Andre... how is it that I have not only had a taste of Saariaho's music before you, but even purchased a few discs of her music already? I'm supposedly the musical reactionary. ...


In the past year, there have been some composers whose music I've first encountered live & then I bought their recordings. Xenakis, George Crumb & Morten Lauridsen were like this for me, and Saariaho might be the same after I attend that recital in December (it will be an electro-acoustic work)...


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Herkku said:


> A word of warning: don't let your expectations run too wild. There is a risk that you might find it just boring...


Well, it *is* slow. I happen to like this kind of thing - psychological drama, slow build up of tension... Many of my preferred movies and movie directors have this same style.

So, yes, people who enjoy faster and more intense works may find L'Amour de Loin boring, it is true.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Thanks. No harm trying, really. I am a bit weary of the director Peter Sellars. He is on the notorious side. But this is a modern opera in every sense, so Sellar's stage works might well suit.
> 
> I was reading about Kaija Saariaho just now. Born 1952. Three operas under her name, with one premiering this year, _Emilie_ (2010). It really takes a lot of resources to stage any opera, let alone a modern unknown one, so there might well be something about Saariaho's works that deserve resources to be allocated for its productions.


Don't worry about the staging. It's sober, minimalist. It's just two spiral metal staircases, each a different color, plus some tubes that fall from the roof with lights in them (sort of like fiberoptic lights), a sort of neon boat, and a pond (the entire stage is a water pool). I found it beautiful, and conducive of focus and concentration on the music, acting, and poetry, which are the strong points of this work.


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