Three female composers lend their voice to three mythical women who can now – finally – tell their story. At the behest of Wonderfeel - in a coproduction with Lunalia, Antwerp Liedfest, Oranjewoud Festival, November Music, & Mittelfest - Annelies van Parys, Aftab Darvishi, and Calliope Tsoupaki created new and contemporary sounds for three women who have been waiting on the sidelines of major Greek myths for far too long. They will shed a new light on the age-old legends, coloring them with nuance and new strength. Is Medea a wrathful monster, or a mother torn by compassion? Is Circe an evil witch, or a profoundly human heroine? And what about Penelope’ supposedly powerless pining?
Writer Gaea Schoeters tried to find words to do justice to these women: words both touching and liberating. Soprano Katharine Dain will sing them to life. Three colorful soloists will engage in an intense dialogue on clarinet, duduk, and qanun. The British Natalie Haynes, stand-up classicist and engaging story-teller, will provide an introduction for the three characters.
"Soprano Katharine Dain gives a powerful and moving performance of the three characters.” Volkskrant
""Three poignant songs of loneliness, madness and hope. Introduced with the necessary irony by British classicist Natalie Haynes.” NRC
“The production offers Medea, Circe and Penelope a worthy voice of their own. This was about time, for indeed: They Have Waited Long Enough!” Contemporary Classical
"Haynes is one of the many writers who retell ancient Greek stories from a female point of view: the ideal host for this concert where three composers make such a change of perspective in sound.” De Standaard (BE)
Annelies Van Parys - Medea (for soprano, clarinet and string quartet)
Text: Gaea Schoeters
Translation: Rona Kennedy
Aftab Darvishi - Never Belonged (for soprano, duduk and string quartet)
Text: Gaea Schoeters inspired by “Circe” by Madeline Miller
Calliope Tsoupaki - Penelope, ΠΗΝΕΛΟΠΕΙΑ (for soprano, qanun and string quartet)
Text: fragments from Homer’s Odyssee
Translation: Emily Wilson
Text / dramaturgie: Gaea Schoeters
Text adjustments from old Greek: Mando Malamou
Concept: Tamar Brüggemann, Wonderfeel
Coproduction partners: Lunalia, Wonderfeel, Antwerp Liedfest, Mittelfest, November Music, Oranjewoud Festival