Danish premiere of Saariaho’s Innocence

A young woman confides that she sleeps best beneath her bed or inside a wardrobe – the very places where the monsters of her childhood used to hide. A teacher recalls how much she loved working at an international school, until one moment changed everything.

Ten years later, a wedding celebration turns into a confrontation with the past. Trauma and suppressed memories rise to the surface, and the distinction between perpetrator and victim becomes increasingly blurred.

Unfolding like a psychological thriller, the drama moves between two timelines, ten years apart, which gradually converge around the story of a school shooting. Innocence is a powerful and heartbreaking reflection on the senseless gun violence of our time. Rather than focusing on the perpetrator, the opera places the victims and those close to them at the centre of the story, while exploring difficult questions of guilt and responsibility: can anyone truly claim to be innocent?

Kaija Saariaho, who died in 2023, is regarded as one of the most significant and visionary composers in contemporary classical music. Her music is distinguished by its unique sound world, combining acoustic instruments and electronics. Her operas in particular have received widespread acclaim, with several becoming established in the contemporary repertoire of opera houses around the world. Innocence, her final opera, was met with great acclaim at its world premiere at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2021

Sofi Oksanen, recipient of the Nordic Council Literature Prize, made her debut as a librettist with Innocence, and her text provides a compelling counterpart to Saariaho’s music. Innocence is presented at the Opera House in Simon Stone’s internationally acclaimed original staging.

Sofie Elkjær Jensen sings the role of the Bride, alongside Francine Vis as the waitress Tereza, with Magnus Vigilius and Stephen Milling also among the cast. Erika Hammarberg performs traditional Finnish karjankutsuu. Conductor Elena Schwarz who conducted Innocence at Dutch National Opera & Ballet in Amsterdam in 2023, will lead the soloists, the Royal Danish Orchestra and the Royal Danish Opera Chorus. 

Innocence will be performed on the Main Stage of the Opera House from 11 October to 6 November 2026.

If you wish to review Innocence please contact PR & Press Officer Louise Pedersen at lope@kglteater.dk

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Innocence is an opera in five acts and an epilogue, with music by Kaija Saariaho. The original Finnish libretto is by Sofi Oksanen, with a multilingual libretto by dramaturg Aleksi Barrière. The opera received its world premiere on 3 July 2021 at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.

Innocence is performed in English, Finnish, Czech, French, Romanian, Swedish, German, Spanish and Greek, with Danish and English surtitles.

Co-produced and co-commissioned by the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Dutch National Opera & Ballet in Amsterdam, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Finnish National Opera and San Francisco Opera. In partnership with the Metropolitan Opera.

The Royal Danish Opera gratefully acknowledges the support of the 15 June Foundation for its guest soloists.