The 2008 Mostly Mozart Festival presents the U.S. premiere of La Passion de Simone: Musical journey in 15 stations, by this year's Composer in-Residence Kaija Saariaho, on August 13, 15, and 17 in the Rose Theater. La Passion de Simone is a contemplation of the life and death of Simone Weil and is directed by Peter Sellars. This staged oratorio features the incomparable Dawn Upshaw, whose performance as Simone was described as "a real marvel" by London's Daily Telegraph. Rising young Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki makes her New York debut conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the three performances of La Passion de Simone. Additionally, this production once again brings Saariaho in collaboration with librettist Amin Maalouf.
Taking the form of a medieval Passion play, with its 15 "stations" representing key moments in its subject's life, La Passion de Simone takes inspiration from Mozart's Requiem, and focuses on the themes of loss and transformation that are woven through this year's Mostly Mozart Festival programming. Co-commissioned by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, La Passion de Simone was premiered at Vienna's 2006 New Crowned Hope Festival, where The Independent (London) praised its "sensual beauty. Its mysticism is conveyed in oceanic washes of orchestral sound dripping with tuned percussions and melismatic woodwind solos."
Controversial French moral philosopher, mathematician, political activist, and mystic Simone Weil was born in Paris in 1909. She died in 1943, starving to death because she refused to eat more than her countrymen suffering in Nazi occupied France. In a program note to her published work, Kaija Saariaho describes the shaping of La Passion de Simone with Mr. Sellars and Mr. Maalouf:
"The combination of Weil's severe asceticism and her passionate quest for truth has appealed to me ever since I first read her thoughts. Together we [the three collaborators] chose different parts of Weil's work and life for the libretto before I began composing. Whereas I have always been fascinated by Simone's striving for abstract (mathematical) and spiritual-intellectual goals, Peter is interested in her social awareness and political activities. Amin brought out the gaping discrepancy between her philosophy and her life, showing the fate of the frail human being amongst great ideas."
Tickets for the 2008 Mostly Mozart Festival are available at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, through CenterCharge at 212.721.6500, or online at www.LincolnCenter.org. For more information on the 2008 Festival, including audio and video clips, the public can visit the Festival's Multimedia Lounge at www.LincolnCenter.org/MozartMediaLounge.
The Mostly Mozart Festival is sponsored by the Jerome L. Greene Foundation and the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation.
Kaija Saariaho is one of an extraordinary group of Finnish musicians making an impact around the world, and is one of the few female contemporary composers to have achieved wide public and critical acclaim. Musical America magazine recently chose Ms. Saariaho as its 2008 Composer of the Year. Called "a master of sonic iridescence" by The Boston Globe, Saariaho's lushly-textured work is rooted in studies of electro-acoustic technology and the science of sound, and is often described as mysterious and other-worldly. She was a recipient of the prestigious Grawemeyer Award in 2003 and is also the recipient of the Prix Italia. La Passion de Simone is the latest of her large-scale staged works created in collaboration with writer Amin Maalouf and director Peter Sellars; their earlier collaborations were the operas L'Amour de loin (2000) and Adriana Mater (2006).
Amin Maalouf collaborated with Ms. Saariaho on her first opera, L'Amour de loin. Maalouf has also written lyrics to Saariaho's song-cycle Quarte instants and the libretto to her second opera, Adriana Mater. The Lebanese-born journalist and novelist creates fictional work that often blends historical settings with fantasy and philosophical themes. With the growing conflicts in his homeland, he emigrated with his family to Paris in 1977 where he continued to work as a journalist. His first book was published in 1983 and his work has been translated into more than 20 languages.
Peter Sellars is one of the leading theater, opera, and festival directors in the world today. Known for re-envisioning classic works to engage contemporary social and political issues, Mr. Sellars is also a director of new works, including John Adams's operas Doctor Atomic, Nixon in China, and The Death of Klinghoffer; Kaija Saariaho's L'amour de loin and Adriana Mater; and Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar ("Fountain of Tears"). Mr. Sellars' New Crowned Hope Festival took place in Vienna in November and December 2006. For the festival, he invited many contemporary international artists from diverse cultural backgrounds in the fields of music and opera, architecture, the visual arts, and film to create new projects as part of the Vienna Mozart Year celebrating the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth. A graduate of Harvard University, he studied in Japan, China, and India before becoming Artistic Director of the Boston Shakespeare Company. At 26 he was made Director of the American National Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He was Artistic Director of the 1990 and 1993 Los Angeles Festivals and is currently a Professor of World Arts and Cultures at University of California in Los Angeles.
Dawn Upshaw is admired throughout the world for her exceptional musicality and for the indisputable beauty of her singing. The integrity and freshness of conception that mark her choice of repertory and her interpretations have made her a model for a new generation of singer. She is particularly esteemed for her deep involvement in contemporary music, which is evident in a broad range Grammy, Gramophone, and Edison prize-winning solo recordings. Much of Ms. Upshaw's work tends to be collaborative in nature. This is evident in her ongoing partnership with Peter Sellars. The alliance between these two artists has produced a series of fresh productions, including a staging of Bach's Cantata BWV 199, Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, and Handel's Theodora. In September 2007, Upshaw was given a MacArthur "genius" grant that will give her $500,000 over a five-year period, awarded for "stretching the boundaries of operatic and concert singing and enriching the landscape of contemporary music." Ms. Upshaw holds a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan University.
For more information including ticket information and complete schedule please www.lincolncenter.org.
