Woman.Life.Freedom. – A Benefit Concert for Human Rights in Iran
About this event
Iranian-Canadian countertenor Cameron Shahbazi, who made a highly acclaimed debut at Oper Frankfurt last season as Oberon in Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream, is following the situation in Iran with great concern, as are all of us. On his initiative, a benefit concert takes place, which he performs together with other artists.
In addition to a diverse musical program, there will be performances and video greetings by personalities such as Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg (acting mayor of the city of Frankfurt), Roya Boroumand (co-founder of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center) and the actress Sepideh Moafi, as well as literary contributions by Jasmin Tabatabai and Joyce DiDonato, Barbara Hannigan, KS Dame Ann Murray and Thomas Hampson.
All artists perform in the name of Woman. Life. Freedom – Frau. Leben. Freiheit – . ژن، ژیان، ئازادی und زن زندگی آزادی .
Click here for the biographies of the artists.
Programme notes are available in English and German.
All net proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to support the non-profit organization Abdorrahman Boroumand Centre, which has been campaigning for more democracy in Iran for many years and documents the human rights violations committed there. If you would also like to donate, you can do so via this platform.
Artists
Cameron Shahbazi, countertenor
Kian Soltani, violoncello
Kristine Opolais, soprano
Lillian Farahani, soprano
Azin Zahedi, flute
Sophia Muñoz, piano
Anna Bonitatibus, mezzo-soprano
Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord
Micha Afkham, viola
Ambur Braid, soprano
Jeff Cohen, piano
Naghib Shanbehzadeh, percussion
Joyce DiDonato, speaker
Sepideh Moafi, speaker
Dame Ann Murray KS, speaker
Ahmad Shamlou, speaker
Jasmin Tabatabai, speaker
Thomas Hampson, speaker
Barbara Hannigan, speaker
Roya Boroumand, Cofounder of Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation
Repertoire
CAMERON SHAHBAZI countertenor, KIAN SOLTANI violoncello
Black is the Colour of my True Love’s Hair, Traditional (arr. by Kian Soltani, 2022)
LILIAN FARAHANI soprano, AZIN ZAHEDI flute, SOPHIA MUÑOZ piano
La flûte enchantée from Shéhérazade by Maurice Ravel
LILIAN FARAHANI soprano, AZIN ZAHEDI flute, SOPHIA MUÑOZ piano
Ich habe genug, solo cantata, BWV 82, by Johann Sebastian Bach, sung in Farsi – translation: Mohsen Namjoo
Poetry reading: The Trees So High (Anonymus), read by JOYCE DIDONATO
ANNA BONITATIBUS mezzo-soprano, MAHAN ESFAHANI harpsichord
L’alma mia fra le tempeste from the opera Agrippina by George Frideric Handel
GIULIA SEMENZATO soprano, MAHAN ESFAHANI harpsichord Lascia ch’io pianga from the opera Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel
ANNA BONITATIBUS mezzo-soprano, MAHAN ESFAHANI harpsichord
Vanne fido, e al mesto regno from the opera Semiramide regina dell’Assiria by Nicola Porpora
Video message from SEPIDEH MOAFI
Poetry reading: Man’s sons are parts of one reality, 1. Ketab / 10. Hekayat from Gulistan (Rose Garden) by Saadi Shirazi (1210–1292), read by DAME ANN MURRAY KS
Poetry reading: Maadi (The Fish) by AHMAD SHAMLOU (1925–2000), read by the author – Video design: Deniz Khateri
MAHAN ESFAHANI harpsichord
Intertwined Distances (2018) by Anahita Abbasi (*1985)
Poetry reading: Reading-Book, from West Eastern Divan, 3. Book: Ushk Nameh (Book of Love), Nr. III by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), read by JASMIN TABATABAI
AMBUR BRAID soprano, JEFF COHEN piano Vissi d’arte from the opera Tosca by Giacomo Puccini
Poetry reading: Inevitable, from West-Eastern Divan, 3. Book: Ushk Nameh (Book of Love), Nr. XIV by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), read by THOMAS HAMPSON
MICHA AFKHAM viola, KIAN SOLTANI violoncello, SOPHIA MUÑOZ piano Introduktion (I.) from Five Pieces for two violins and piano by Dmitri D. Shostakovitch, in the version for viola, violoncello and piano (arr. by Levon Atovnyan)
NAGHIB SHANBEHZADEH percussion Le Voyage (2021) by Naghib Shanbehzadeh
Poetry reading: A Triptych by Edward FitzGerald (1809–1883); after three Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), read by BARBARA HANNIGAN
Video message from ROYA BOROUMAND, Cofounder of Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation
KRISTINE OPOLAIS soprano, JEFF COHEN piano
Ave Maria from the opera Otello by Giuseppe Verdi
KIAN SOLTANI violoncello
Persian Fire Dance for violoncello solo by Kian Soltani
KRISTINE OPOLAIS soprano, JEFF COHEN piano
Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém (Song to the Moon) from the opera Rusalka by Antonín Dvořák
Video message from AMBUR BRAID, JOYCE DIDONATO, MAHAN ESFAHANI, LILIAN FARAHANI, JULIE FUCHS, BARBARA HANNIGAN, LUCAS & ARTHUR JUSSEN, MAGDALENA KOŽENÁ, SYDNEY MANCASOLA, HERA HYESANG PARK, MARLIS PETERSEN, ANNA PIROZZI, CAMERON SHAHBAZI and KERI-LYNN WILSON
CAMERON SHAHBAZI countertenor, KIAN SOLTANI violoncello, SOPHIA MUÑOZ piano - Lalaee (Lullaby) by Googoosh (*1950), (arr. for countertenor, violoncello and piano by Kian Soltani and Cameron Shahbazi)
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