Skip to main content

Qaqnas

Huba de Graaff, Naaz

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) – that originated in the Kurdish women’s movement and gained global recognition after the protests in Iran – Qaqnas shows how fragile freedom truly is. 


Composer Huba de Graaff often writes experimental opera's and explores the boundary between speech and music in Qaqnas: what kind of music emerges when singing in a forbidden language? Naaz Mohammad, Naaz in short, is a Dutch-Kurdisch singer-songwriter who brings deeply personal lyrics, often layered with a lot of emotional depth. 


This performance takes place in a kitchen that doubles as an electronic music studio. Here, a fully female cast operates the equipment themselves. They sing in Kurdish – a language long forbidden, now sounding loud, proud, and unrestrained. 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 fuses DIY kitchen electronics with opera, poetry with energy, intimacy with rebellion. A thrilling performance about strength, solidarity, 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

  • Sorani surtitles: English, Dutch

  • 1 hour 15 minutes (zonder pauze)

Please note:

the performance on 11 June is a preview, for which the admission price is €18.

 

meet the artist: on 13 June 10 pm with Huba de Graaff

more info

Credits

vocals Naaz composition Huba de Graaff electronics Huba de Graaff music performed by Nora Mulder, Khabat Abas, Mei-Yi Lee direction Ria Marks lighting design Varja Klosse kostuums Leila el Alaoui