Kaija Saariaho's L'AMOUR DE LOIN Will Be First Woman-Composed Opera At The Met Since 1903

The last time New York's Metropolitan Opera Company performed a piece composed by a woman, there was no such thing as a World Series, only four states allowed women the right to vote and George M. Cohan was over a year away from writing "Give My Regards to Broadway."

That was March of 1903, when the building some still refer to as "the old Met" housed composer/librettist Ethel M. Smyth's one-act opera, DER WALD, as a curtain raiser to the evening's main attraction, IL TROVATORE.

The New York Times review called it "a disappointing novelty," noting "It is difficult to find much import in this sophisticated Grimm's fairy tale. What it illustrates is neither very new nor very fit for operatic treatment."

As for the music, the unnamed critic wrote, "The case is one of vaulting ambition and a general incompetency to write anything beyond the most commonplaces."

That was a typical reaction to Smyth's compositions throughout her career, but today she is regarded as a pioneer who broke through the limitations of the "pretty melodies" that were expected from women who wrote music. (Click here for the full review.)

The reception when Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's L'AMOUR DE LOIN premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 2001 was far more positive.

Translated as "Love From Afar," the libretto by Amin Maalouf is inspired by the legend of 12th Century troubadour Jaufré Rudel and his passion for Countess Hodiema of Tripoli. The video shows a scene from the 2004 Finnish National Opera, Helsinki production, starring Dawn Upshaw and Monica Groop.

The Metropolitan Opera's production of L'AMOUR DE LOIN will premiere on December 1st, 2016, starring Susanna Phillips, Tamara Mumford and Eric Owens. Susanna Malkki conducts. Visit metopera.org.

Photo of Kaija Saariaho by Maarit Kytoharju