Composing Clémence in L’amour de loin

Abstract

This article expands our knowledge of the inception of the opera, L’amour de loin, by introducing primary documents from the as-yet uncatalogued Kaija Saariaho Sammlung (KSS) at the Paul Sacher Stiftung in Basel, Switzerland. It then focuses on the development of the vocal part for Clémence that resulted in two versions of the role, one for coloratura and one for a lyric soprano, and situates the revision Saariaho undertook with soprano Dawn Upshaw in the historical tradition of operatic collaboration. Finally, I interpret the two versions of Clémence through the lens of operatic vocal Fach to determine how those different characterizations might affect an audience member’s experience of the opera. I argue that the iterations of Clémence’s two largest set pieces are so different that one could speak of two discrete versions of L’amour de loin in which different heroines are envoiced.