KAIJA SAARIAHO

Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony release the world premiere recording of Kaija Saariaho’s Adriana Mater. The composer’s second opera – and second collaboration with Lebanese-born French writer Amin Maalouf – Adriana Mater is an intensely moving work exploring the relationship between a mother and her son in a war-torn country as they navigate the violence that defines their past and present, and threatens to claim their future. This recording captures a June 2023 performance of a staged production directed by Peter Sellars, delivered mere days after the composer’s passing; mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron sings the title role, in a cast that also includes Axelle Fanyo (Refka), Nicholas Phan (Yonas) and Christopher Purves (Tsargo). 

Please find the full libretto and more information on Kaija Saariaho’s ADRIANA MATER here:

http://saariaho.org/works/adriana-mater-libretto