Love from Afar

The COC’s winter season marks the Canadian premiere of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s Love from Afar, a haunting musical creation that has become one of the most successful 21st-century operas. Director Daniele Finzi Pasca, best known for his work with Cirque du Soleil, brings his signature style to a visually arresting production and conjures a dreamlike atmosphere in which reality isn’t quite as it appears. This story of a world-weary medieval troubadour who journeys from France to meet a beautiful woman living in Tripoli features an all-Canadian cast of voices both familiar and new to the COC stage. On the heels of his resounding success this fall with the COC’s Iphigenia in Tauris, celebrated baritone Russell Braun portrays the troubadour Jaufré Rudel. Erin Wall, one of the most exciting young sopranos on the current operatic scene, makes her COC debut as his faraway desire, Clémence. The enigmatic pilgrim who carries messages between the two lovers is sung by COC Ensemble graduate mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó. COC Music Director Johannes Debus leads the COC Orchestra and Chorus through the lush score, built on an innovative combination of traditional orchestral instruments and electronics.

Single tickets for Love from Afar are $12 – $318 (specially priced $22 tickets are available for people under the age of 30). Tickets are available online at coc.ca, by calling COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or in person at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.