Copyright information:Bowie Verschuuren
What does freedom mean for women today? Qaqnas is a powerful, musical ode to that question. This new opera places voice, electronics, and resistance at its center. Inspired by the slogan Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (woman, life, freedom) — which emerged from the Kurdish women’s movement and gained global recognition after the protests in Iran – Qaqnas shows how fragile freedom can be.
Composer Huba de Graaff, who primarily writes experimental operas, explores in Qaqnas the boundary between speech and music: what kind of music arises when you sing in a language that was forbidden for centuries? Naaz Mohammad, known simply as Naaz, is a Dutch-Kurdish singer-songwriter whose lyrics are intensely personal, often layered with deep emotion.
The performance takes place indoors, in an electronic music studio, where a fully female cast operates all the equipment. The singing is in Kurdish (Sorani) – a language that was long prohibited and now sounds loud, proud, and uninhibited. The opera is based on a poem by Kurdish poet Tarza Jaff and tells the story of women who dare to leave, who take flight – and pay the price for it.
Qaqnas combines do-it-yourself electronics with opera, poetry, rebellious women, and extravagant costumes. In this musical laboratory, an energetic, all-female Kurdish opera about freedom comes to life. A thrilling performance about strength and claiming space.
dates
Thu June 11 8:30 PM
Fri June 12 8:30 PM
Sat June 13 8:30 PM
Sun June 14 8:30 PM
prices
- default € 25
- CJP € 20
- HF Young € 19
- youth under 18 € 15
information
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Sorani surtitles: English, Dutch
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1 hour 15 minutes (zonder pauze)
the performance on 11 June is a preview, admission € 18.
meet the artist: on 13 June 10 pm with Huba de Graaff
