Yet the opera is filled with action: The constantly changing psychological and emotional states of the characters, as they struggle with the ideal and the real, are exquisitely limned in Ms. Saariaho’s sensual music. This dynamism was front and center, expressed musically by the superb Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, under the expert leadership of Susanna Mälkki in her house debut. (This, too, was a milestone in the breaking of glass ceilings—she is only the fourth woman to conduct at the Met.)"