30 January 2023

an addition to the February calendar

 Somehow I missed this while preparing my February calendar, but it sounds fascinating:

Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble presents & performs the world premiere of BABA: The Life and Death of Stana, a new opera the ensemble commissioned from Slovenian composer Karmina Šilec "inspired by real and imagined stories of Balkan sworn virgins (women who live as men after taking vows of chastity and celibacy). The tradition of sworn virgins is rooted in a centuries-old social code of law present in remote rural regions of Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Serbia. Born as women, life circumstances—including the loss of male relatives in blood feuds or a desire to escape an oppressive arranged marriage—led these individuals to become men to gain the honors, rights, privileges, and freedoms of community patriarchs. The motives for this gender transformation were traditionally social responsibility and family honor, as opposed to sexual preference or feelings of being male by nature."

Performances are 23 - 26 February at Z Space in San Francisco; go here for more information & tickets.

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