CANCELLED due to Coronavirus - Anne Sofie von Otter sings Saariaho

Anne Sofie von Otter sings the lead role in La passion de Simoneby the Finnish Kaija Saariaho; a masterpiece about oppression and powerlessness.

The fate of the working class
Oppression and the skewed balance of power between society and the individual. These are important themes in the work of philosopher and mystic Simone Weil. The Jewish Frenchwoman not only wrote about them frequently, she also put her money where her mouth was. In the 1930s, she chose the hard life of a factory worker to experience the fate of the working class at first hand. In 1943, barely 34 years old, she died of self-imposed starvation in England. Weil refused to eat more than her compatriots in occupied France.

Anne Sofie Otter in the leading role
Composer Kaija Saariaho heard an opera in her Werdegang. Or rather: a musical-theatrical cross between oratorio and passion play, which meditates on Weil's life and work in fifteen sublimely orchestrated stanzas. The Dutch premiere of the ensemble version will be heard at this Matinee concert. The Swedish starzzo Anne Sofie von Otter sings the solo role.