Adriana Mater, Opera by K. Saariaho
Kaija Saariaho's dramatic opera, Adriana Mater, is a wartime tale that is constructed in seven tableaux – or scenes – each exploring violence, family connections and the trauma that comes from conflict. A fictitious story that could be set in any war-torn conflict zone on the planet, the opera is reminiscent of some of the combat that took place in the Balkans toward the end of the 20th century. With a libretto provided by the Lebanese-born French author, Amin Maalouf, Adriana Mater's world premiere took place at the Opéra Bastille on 3 April 2006. Originally commissioned by the Paris National Opera and the Finnish National Opera, Adriana Mater went on to be staged in Finland, Saariaho's homeland, on 23 February 2008 in Helsinki. This season, the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma brings this powerful work to its stage.
Saariaho, who was based in Paris for much of her career as a composer, said that her starting point for Adriana Mater was informed by her experience of pregnancy. She told Maalouf that the sensation of feeling two heartbeats within her body could be suited to an operatic theme. Certainly, her score, which features rhythmic polyphony in some sections, suggests she was thinking about heartbeats when she wrote the music. For his part, Maalouf drew on his prior experience as not only a survivor of civil war but as a war correspondent, as well.
The central character in the opera is Adriana, a woman who is raped and who bears a child by the perpetrator. Despite her sister encouraging her to not continue with the pregnancy, the baby grows into a young man named Yonas. During the first act, Adriana worries about her son, trying to make up her mind about whether he will grow into a violent man, like his father, or become more like his mother. In the second act, Yonas discovers the truth about his father. The young man is informed his father didn't die a heroic soldier's death and that he has, in fact, returned to the country. Consequently, Yonas declares he will kill his rapist father as an act of vengeance.
Adriana Mater's themes and plot ask questions of audiences. Each of the characters is complex and nothing is quite as black-and-white as the rather bleak circumstances suggest. Will Adriana's concerns over her son's inherent violence be realised? Will Yonas confront his father and how will he react if he does? In the final tableau, these questions are answered with the four characters – Yonas, his parents and his aunt - all on stage together. This production of Adriana Mater at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome offers the chance to enjoy some spellbinding music and touching, if dramatic, themes.