Video: Trailer Released for Joyce DiDonato-Led INNOCENCE at The Metropolitan Opera
Kaija Saariaho’s final opera arrives at the Met in Simon Stone’s production, conducted by Susanna Mälkki and starring Joyce DiDonato.
The Metropolitan Opera has released the official trailer for INNOCENCE, the final opera by composer Kaija Saariaho, which receives its Met premiere in the 2025–26 season. The production is directed by Simon Stone and conducted by Susanna Mälkki.
With a libretto by Sofi Oksanen and multilingual dramaturgy by Aleksi Barrière, INNOCENCE explores the aftermath of a school shooting and the web of trauma that reverberates years later. The opera premiered in 2021 to international acclaim and has been described by critics as a major contemporary work.
At the Met, the cast is led by Joyce DiDonato and Finnish ethno-pop singer Vilma Jää as a grieving mother and her daughter. They are joined by Jacquelyn Stucker and Miles Mykkanen as a couple whose wedding, set a decade after the tragedy, brings long-buried truths to the surface.
The production is part of the Neubauer Family Foundation New Works Initiative and runs approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes. Content advisory notes include haze effects and depictions related to the aftermath of a school shooting.
INNOCENCE is presented in various languages with Met Titles available in English, German, and Spanish. Tickets are now available through the Metropolitan Opera website.
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