Innocence’s uncompromising portrait of the aftermath of a mass shooting has become a major international artistic event. It’s based on a libretto by best-selling novelist Sofi Oksanen, whose fusion of contemporary issues and Scandi-noir type thriller has seen two of her books, Baby Jane and Purge, both adapted for opera. For Innocence, Oksanen transports us ten years post-shooting, to a wedding for the gunman’s family, where one of the victim’s mothers works as a waitress. For Finnish mezzo-soprano Jenny Carlstedt, who plays the waitress, Innocence is groundbreaking.

‘I think music should speak about the problems of our world right now, just as Mozart did with The Marriage Of Figaro,’ says Carlstedt. ‘I think we have to try to discuss things that are uncomfortable. Through art, we have a chance of approaching them in a more holistic way. That's what attracted me to Innocence: it has a really difficult theme, but Sofi Oksanen’s brilliant, intelligent libretto looks at what happens to people after a tragedy, when all the cameras have gone and it stops being reported.’ 

Carlstedt continues: ‘Hollywood gives us this black and white idea of who is the villain and who is the good guy, but life isn't like that. People are so much more complex. There are so many layers of trying to live a good life and do the right thing.’ 

There are layers as well to Simon Stone’s production, which premiered at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2021. Since then, it has been performed at Finnish State Opera, London’s Royal Opera House, Dutch National Opera and San Francisco Opera, with its New York debut at the Metropolitan Opera pending. 

Oksanen’s original Finnish libretto is delivered in numerous languages by way of Aleksi Barrière’s multi-lingual translation, with Clement Mao-Takacs conducting Adelaide Symphony Orchestra accompanied by Adelaide Chamber Singers and State Opera Chorus.

‘There are no arias,’ points out Carlstedt, who will also perform a solo concert at Adelaide Festival. ‘As opera, I think Innocence is very bold. Hearing Kaija Saariaho’s music for the first time, I was blown away by the colours. Every single character has their own character colour. It's not a cacophony of sounds. Everything comes out emotionally.’

‘I think what she and Sofi Oksansen have done with Innocence will give coming generations the permission to try and reflect our society right now, and to find the essence of our time. I think it educates us about compassion, about the complexity of being a human being, and about rising, somehow, from the depths of darkness.’

Innocence, Adelaide Festival Centre, 28 February–5 March, times vary; Jenny Carlstedt: From The Bliss Of Song And Lyre, The University of Adelaide, 6 March, 12.30pm.