​Émilie du Châtelet

Kaija Saariaho: Émilie opera

Libretto : Amin Maalouf

 

Who was Émilie? 
 

Her full name was Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise of Châtelet.

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She was born on 17 December 1706 in Paris, died on 10 September 1749 in Luneville. Émilie was a French Enlightenment physicist, mathematician, writer.

 

She had love affairs with Voltaire and Saint-Lambert, among others. She was also an accomplished singer and harpsichordist who gave concerts in her home.

And a gambler!

 

Wikipedia claims that he remained in the public consciousness because of his love affairs with eminent scientists - I claim that he will be remembered in particular as a scientist of enormous talent!

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Emilié du Châtelet lived during what the French called Le siècle des Lumières, the century of lights, referring to the light of reason that was to guide knowledge and illuminate all aspects of human life. Enlightenment philosophers believed in progress and called for changes in many social ills.

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The opera tells the story of Émilie's last days, her struggle against time and death as she tried to complete her work on Isaac Newton's 1687 magnum opus Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica - The Mathematical Foundations of Natural Philosophy. Émilie translated the entire work into plain French, and commented on and critically reviewed Newton's new doctrines. All this was quite new in 1740s France.

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In early 1749, Émilie du Châtelet discovered she was pregnant. She was 42 years old and feared she would not survive the birth. So she began making preparations in case she died in childbirth. Principia's translation and commentaries had to be completed before the baby was born. On 4 September, she gave birth to a baby girl. 

Just a few days earlier, he had completed the translation and added the articles in plain English on Newton's mechanics of the heavens, the theory of gravitation and mathematics.  Émilie du Châtelet died 6 days after giving birth.

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Émilie du Châtelet looked at the field of natural philosophy of her time with a completely open mind. She was able to combine ideas that were considered contradictory, studied the nature of fire and light rays, made the discovery of an invisible light, ultraviolet light!

 

Émilie du Châtelet was also interested in vitalism, ethics and medicine, the principles of the senses and emotional psychology. Like the great philosophers of the 17th century, she sought to create a complete philosophical theory that would explain the physical structure of the universe and the basis of human behaviour.

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In Émilie du Châtelet, Saariaho was fascinated by her contradictions and her great achievements at a time when women were expected only to marry well.

 

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Pia Freund's reflections:

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"The fact that we are now creating a new version of Kaija Saariaho's opera Émilie dates back a few years, when I discussed with Kaija the possibility of dramatising her orchestral song cycle Émilie. Kaija was very enthusiastic about it, but we never got the chance to do it.

 

The matter resurfaced and became topical when violinist Linda Suolahti and Kokonainen ry were inspired to ask my association Dialogia! ry to apply for a New Classics grant. I proposed Émilie to Linda. The third partner was the chamber orchestra Avanti!

 

Already in the first meeting of our working group, the director Aleksi Barrière asked why we shouldn't do a complete opera instead of a song cycle.

 

Of course! It was obvious that many of Émilie's characters were just waiting to be played!

 

Now the monodrama grows into a stunning ensemble with multiple Émilie characters, multiple time levels, and layers of psyche.

 

What speaks to me in this opera is, of course, the tragedy of Émilie du Châtelet's fate - but even more so her strength and perseverance.

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The opera is made possible by a New Classics grant.

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Artistic team:

soprano Pia Freund, violinist Linda Suolahti, director Aleksi Barrière, conductor Aliisa-Neige Barrière, soprano Meeri Pulakka, dance artists Ada Freund and Janne Marja-aho, costume designer Satu Muurinen, make-up artist Alisa Kaksonen-Balbontin

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Chamber Orchestra Avanti!

Aliisa-Neige Barrière, conductor

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