L'Amour de Loin/Love From Afar - Amin Maalouf/Kaija Saariaho

L'Amour de Loin - Love From Afar

Amin Maalouf / Kaija Saariaho

This special web site is based on the libretto about Tripoli, "L'Amour de Loin," written by the world famous author Amin Maalouf

Jaufré Rudel: A Biography / Biographie

Amin Maalouf: Emigrant, Pilgrim, Storyteller / Exilé, Pèlerin, Conteur

The Opera / L'Opéra

Synopsis / Sommaire

Act One / Première Acte

Act Two / Deuxième Acte

Act Three / Troisième Acte

Act Four / Quatrième Acte

Act Five / Cinquième Acte

FACTS

Opera in five acts. Composed: 1999-2000

The story of the opera "L'Amour de Loin" was written by the distinguished Lebanese author Amin Maalouf and is based on "La Vida breve" of of Jaufré Rudel, Prince of Blaye, one of the first great troubadours of the 12th century.

Jaufré Rudel, a young troubadour, falls in love with his idea of a distant lady, who then appears in the flesh. His glowing passion for the Countess of Tripoli, of whom he has only heard, is the central theme of the libretto.

The opera "L'Amour de Loin" (Love from Afar) was commissioned by the Salzburg Festival and Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris. It was staged on 15, 19, 22, 27, and 30 August 2000 in the unique setting of the Felsenreitschule (theatre within the Festival Hall complex).

Kaija Saariaho, a Finnish composer resident in Paris, worked on the stage work L'Amour de Loin, for premiere in Salzburg. Scoring for the opera are: symphony orchestra (ca.80 players), chorus, and three soloists (sop, mz, baritone).

CAST

Musical direction: Kent Nagano

Stage direction: Peter Sellars

Stage design: George Tsypin

Costumes: Martin Pakledinaz

Light: James F. Ingalls

Choir direction: Erwin Ortner

Clémence, Comtesse de Tripoli: Dawn Upshaw

Le Pèlerin: Dagmar Peckova

Jaufré Rudel, Prince de Blaye et Troubadour: Dwayne Croft

SWR-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden and Freiburg Arnold Schoenberg Chor IRCAM, Paris

Work commissioned by the Salzburg Festival and by Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris

Background image: The libretto offered to you here may be downloaded to your computer and one copy can be made for your private use. No further copies are allowed to be made without the express approval of Chester Music Ltd., publisher and copyright owner, or their appointed agent.

Important Notice: Photograph by the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, Exhibited in February 2000 at the Barbara Gladstone Gallery (New York) and in September 2000 at the workshop of the Serpentine Gallery (London).