Façons tragiques de tuer une femme (working title)

Presentation

In Soh's new one-act chamber opera, the disparity of treatment between men and women is articulated through the life and loves of the women on stage. Taking inspiration from the Greek tragedies, this modern-day representation showcases the full and timeless spectrum of micro-aggressions and violence against women.

Inspired by the book Façon tragique de tuer une femme by Nicole Loraux, this project examines systemic violence against women using the greek tragedies as a springboard. The entire opera set itself will be the musical construct that demonstrates these timeless domestic problems.

This project creates an ambitious opportunity for the writing of the music staging and text to be done in parallel such that all 3 aspects are so highly intertwined, the result will be a true collaborative work that melts from one domain to another.

Diana Soh’s highly-detailed score will precisely define the physical movements for the performers, creating an unusual, “noisy” rhythmic backdrop to the singing, turning mundane tasks like stirring one’s tea, chopping vegetables and turning a page into music.

The project will explore systemic violence and domestic issues with a focus on power structures in relationships. We will concentrate on the exploration the notion of dominance in a heterosexual relationship and the idea of female empowerment. We want to emphases the non-literal types of deaths that kills one on the inside and the inescapability of the mundane, everyday lives of our main characters. also give a portrayal of what a modern day wonder-woman might look like.

Artistic Team

Lisenka Heijboer Castañón and Diana Soh are both among rising artists that propose very strong and inventive ways to explore and develop musical theater and to propose an alternative to modern opera. Their sensibilty and their creativity, their capacity to mix arts and all resources that can be used in performance. they are pushing the limits of the performance using the set as an instrument, the body as a language. Together with Sabryna Pierre as artists and as women, they will explore a very contemporary and old issue : they will explore systemic violence and domestic issues with a focus on power structures in relationships. They will focus on the notion of dominance in a heterosexual relationship, gas-lighting and the idea of what female empowerment really means. They will focus on the kinds of non-literal deaths that kill a person from the inside and the inescapability of the mundane, everyday lives of our main characters.

Co-producing Partners