Dawn Upshaw begins a three-show run of performances at Lincoln Center of the US premiere of composer Kaija Saariaho's La Passion de Simone, an oratorio written for Upshaw based on the life of French French philosopher Simone Weil. The production, directed by Peter Sellars, will take place at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater in Columbus Circle as part of the summer's Mostly Mozart Festival and includes the composer's Mostly Mozart debut, as well as that of dancer Michael Schumacher, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the London Voices vocal ensemble. The Independent (UK) calls the work a “magical union of words, music, and theater.” Additional performances will be held Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Pre-concert discussions will Kaija Saariaho and Ara Guzelimian, dean of The Juilliard School, will be held prior to the two evening performances. For more information, visit lincolncenter.org.

Saariaho, this summer's Mostly Mozart composer-in-residence, discusses her work and career with the New York Times's Steve Smith. She explains the fears she felt early on as an aspiring composer against the daunting precedent set by Mozart, and her later reluctance to write for the opera, which lessened after she saw Sellars's 1989 production of Don Giovanni. Read the article at nytimes.com.

Also, Philadelphia Inquirer Classical Music Critic David Patrick Stearns offers a "primer" on Saariaho's works, including La Passion de Simone, in a run-up to tonight's opening. You'll find it at philly.com.