27.10.2021

KATRIN WUNDSAM sings The Pilgrim in Kaija Saariaho's "L'Amour de loin" at the Cologne Opera

The first opera by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, L'amour de loin was premiered at the Salzburg Festival in August 2000. Since then, several productions have followed in Europe and the USA,  repeatedly demonstrating the special significance of this work which in its theme and mood is often associated with Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande and Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. The masterfully precise libretto was written by Amin Maalouf, who was born and raised in Lebanon and who has lived in France since the 1970s.

Johannes Erath, who has distinguished himself at the Cologne Opera with productions that set special standards in terms of aesthetics and musicality (such as Gounod's Faust, Massenet's Manon, or Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice), directs this new production conducted by Constantin Trinks. A former ensemble member of Oper Köln, the Austrian mezzo-soprano Katrin Wundsam makes her role debut as "The Pilgrim".

Cast 

Holger Falk, Jaufré Rudel
Emily Hindrich, Clémence
Katrin Wundsam, The Pilgrim

Constantin Trinks, conductor
Johannes Erath, director
Bernhard Hammer, set design
Katharina Tasch, costume design
Bibi Abel, videos
Nicol Hungsberg, lighting design
Rustam Samedov, chorus master 
Georg Kehren, dramaturgy

Chor der Oper Köln
Gürzenich Orchester Köln