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The Center for Contemporary Opera’s 40th season continues with We, The Innumerable by Iranian composer Niloufar Nourbakhsh and librettist Lisa Flanagan. The premiere of the workshop of this one-act opera in concert form, takes place on Friday, October 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the National Sawdust.
Set during Iran’s Green Movement – a precursor to the Arab Spring – We, The Innumerable explores one woman’s courage to demand freedom from state-sanctioned violence and resist the distorted reality of authoritarianism in the Islamic Republic. We The Countless considers lessons about political violence and revolt learned from Iran’s Green Movement, including the fragility of democracy, the poison of propaganda, and the collective will of the people. The October 21 performance comes at a time when thousands of Iranian women are at the forefront of the anti-government uprising following the death of Mahsa Amini, removing their headscarves in the streets and burning them to protest the compulsory hijab .
Grammy-nominated conductor Sara Jobin directs a chamber ensemble of piano, violin, cello, clarinet, percussion, Persian santour, and electronic effects. The music fuses classical Iranian modes with classical instruments, incorporating authentic Iranian instruments into a European-derived form.
Directed by Harris Doran. We, The Innumerable will be sung in English with Persian lyrics and dialogue with an English surtitle.
