A Thousand Splendid Suns

Had to get tickets to the world premier of this opera https://www.seattleopera.org/on-stage/2023-a-thousand-splendid-suns/ commissioned in 2017 by the previous Seattle opera director ….from the 2007 book by Khalid Hosseini.    A Seattle composer who studied in India and introduced 2 new instruments to the orchestra ( tabla and bonsuri) of western opera.   An Afghan woman filmakerwho has never stage-directed an opera before, and an excellent conductor who knows Hindustani music and a set designer who produced very imaginative sets     It’s a really tough story ( as you who have read the book, know) and hard to imagine.   But long in the making and important.    In the lobby were prints of artwork produced by an organization artloads.com , (. https://www.artlords.co/  Founded in 2014 to pave the way for peace through art.   I think it lasted til 2021when the taliban retook Kabul.    Too much could be written…. Check out the website if you are interested.    The blip is one of the artworks “ Fed Up with Guns” which could apply to more cultures than  Afghanistan.

We only saw 2 Seattle operas this year.   This was well worth it.   Much to ponder.   And learn.   Depressing.   There are some I don’t need to see again. :-)  but next year there is a Handel (Alcina) we’ve never seen …! And also Wagner’s Rheingold. .

Sorry…couldn't get the iPad to do the links better) the opera website also has a list of all possible organizations through which one can help the situation and refugees here today.