award-winning opera phenomenon in almi hall

What does it mean to be a woman? What does it mean to be free? Can one be freer inside a prison than outside of it?

Helsinki Festival presents an opera phenomenon that has gained worldwide attention. Woman at Point Zero premiered at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2022 and has since played to sold-out audiences, including at the Royal Opera House in London. The work has been awarded prestigious prizes such as the Ivor Novello Award for Best Stage Work and the FEDORA Opera Prize. The BBC has named composer Bushra El-Turk one of the 100 most inspiring women of today.

Woman at Point Zero is a new multimedia opera by LOD music theater, based on the novel Woman at Point Zero by Egyptian writer and feminist Nawal El Saadawi. The opera tells the story of two women: Fatma, an activist imprisoned for killing a man, and Sama, a young and ambitious documentary filmmaker who wants to share her story. Fatma recounts to Sama her struggle to escape the cycle of violence that has defined her life. Over the course of a single day, their relationship evolves as they share memories, experiences, and secrets, moving from suspicion to curiosity, solidarity, and ultimately, friendship.

This universal work about oppression and liberation has been created by composer Bushra El-Turk, director Laila Soliman, librettist Stacy Hardy, and scenographer and video designer Bissane Al Charif. Conducted by Kanako Abe, the music blends Western and Eastern traditions, performed by musicians from around the world on a mix of classical and rare traditional instruments.

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creative team

Composition: Bushra El-Turk
Direction: Laila Soliman
Libretto: Stacy Hardy
Text based on Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi published by Zed Books- Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Scenography: Bissane Al Charif
Video design: Bissane Al Charif & Julia König
Director’s assistant: Barbara T’Jonck & Nadia Amin
Composer’s assistant: Furkan Keçeli
Documentary audio fragments: Aida Elkashef
Musical direction: Kanako Abe
Assistant musical director: Ivan Cheng

Singers: Dima Orsho & Carla Nahadi Babelegoto
ensemble ZAR:
Hyelim Kim (taegum)
Milos Milivojevic (accordéon)
Raphaela Danksagmuller (recorders, fujara, duduk, kaval)
Chatori Shimizu (sho)
Faraz Eshghi Sahraei (kamancha)
Hanna Kölbel / Tamaki Sugimoto (cello)

Repetitor & live samples: Samir Bendimered
Costumes: Eli Verkeyn
Stage manager: Patrick Vanderhaegen
Light design: Loes Schakenbos
Video: Johannes Ringoot / Brecht Debackere
Light: Jamy Hollebeke
Sound: Carlo Thompson / Guillaume Desmet
Production manager: Liesbet Termont
Production: LOD muziektheater

Coproduction: All Aria’s festival (deSingel Antwerpen, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Concertgebouw Brugge & Transparant), Royal Opera House London, Shubbak Festival London, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Britten Pears Arts & Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg)

With thanks to: Kathleen Venneman & Victor Hidalgo with the support of enoa (European Network of Opera Academies), PRS Foundation, FEDORA, AFAC (The Arab Fund for Art and Culture), the British Council & the TAX Shelter Measure by the Belgian federal government tax shelter partner Flanders TAX Shelter

With special thanks to: Mariem Abutaleb, Joel Bell, Nawal El Saadawi, Nedjma Elhadj, Shady Elhusseiny, Michael Elisson, Victor Hidalgo, Rebecca Merritt, Ahmed Saaty, David Sawyer, Kathleen Venneman, Peter Wiegold, Kate Wyatt & Ruth Wyner

In co-operation with: Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation

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