Émilie

Aleta Shang - Èmilie

We are delighted to share both operas from our rescheduled contemporary double bill with you very soon. First up, at the end of this month, we are thrilled to present a concert performance of Kaija Saariaho and Amin Maalouf’s gripping monodrama Émilie in its Australian premiere.

First performed in 2010, Saariaho’s dramatically charged monodrama draws inspiration from the life, and the final writings, of Émilie du Châtelet, an extraordinary mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. Unfolding as a stream of consciousness narrative, a series of vignettes during her ultimately fatal pregnancy, Émilie gives an incisive, haunting voice to women’s experiences of rage, elation, grief, and despair in a society unwilling to hear them.

In a concert performance, The Cooperative is delighted to present the Australian premiere of this incredible work, re-envisaged for five singers, and performed by an outstanding cast and orchestral ensemble. All profits taken from admission will support organisations working for advancement of women’s health and wellbeing, in Australia and globally.