From the Met Opera in New York, as part of the Spazju Kreattiv programme of transmissions, comes L’Amour de Loin.

The opera is based on 12th-century prince and troubadour Jaufré Rudel’s La Vida Breve or Love from Afar, a theme he developed and used in his songs. Very little is known about Rudel, however, the idea of impossible love was central to the explosion of poetry in Europe in the 12th century and is still found frequently throughout the contemporary arts.

In this opera, composed by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho with a libretto by Amin Maalouf, the prince and troubadour Jaufré dreams and seeks an idealised love, beyond the boredom and superficiality of those around him. Contrary to his expectations, however, a pilgrim arrives claiming that such a woman, Clémence, Countess of Tripoli, truly does exist. Jaufré becomes obsessed and deeply devoted to her and decides to embark on a perilous journey to meet her.

Commissioned by the Salzburg Festival, where it was first seen in 2000, this breakthrough opera sees its Metropolitan Opera premiere in a dazzling new production by Robert Lepage, featuring glimmering ribbons of LED lights that extend across the length of the stage and over the orchestra pit. The New York Times has described the opera as “transfixing […] a lushly beautiful score.”

Eric Owens is the knight on a quest for love and Susanna Phillips is his lover on the other side of the sea, with Tamara Mumford as the pilgrim who brings messages back and forth between the lovers.

■ The encore performance of L’Amour de Loin is screening this Sunday at St James Cavalier in Valletta at 5pm. The opera is in French with English subtitles. A repeat screening will take place on May 21. Spazju Kreattiv is offering block tickets for the Met Opera season performances. For more information, visit http://kreattivita.org .