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New creations by our former FEDORA Prizes winners at the Opera Forward Festival
Details
24 February 2025
Amsterdam / Netherlands
Winners
The Opera Forward Festival (OFF) will take place from 14 to 31 March at the Dutch Nationale Opera & Ballet in Amsterdam and will feature three of our former FEDORA Prizes winners.
OFF is a hub for innovative and experimental opera, showcasing bold new works by emerging and established creators. The festival also includes performances and context programs that reimagine opera for modern audiences. With a focus on themes of purpose, progress, and peace, the festival invites audiences to envision a way forward through the power of opera.
Three of our former FEDORA Prizes winners in the Opera and Digital categories have the honor of presenting their latest productions at the festival, solidifying their role as pioneers in shaping the future of opera. By showcasing their projects, these talented creators have become a reference point for the artistic processes of tomorrow, inspiring the next generation of innovators in the performing arts.
Among the most remarkable projects featured at the festival are the works of acclaimed composer Bushra El-Turk, winner of the FEDORA - GENERALI Opera Prize 2020 for “Woman at Point Zero.” This time, she presents "Oum – A Son’s Quest for His Mother", an emotional music theatre production exploring the fragile relationship between a son and his mother, and their final chance for reconciliation.
Also in the spotlight is the collaboration between composer Philip Venables and librettist & stage director Ted Huffman, winners of the FEDORA - GENERALI Opera Prize 2019 for “Denis & Katya.” They return with their first orchestral opera, “We Are The Lucky Ones”, a multi-voiced portrait of a generation that captures the complexities of a generation.
Rounding out the highlights is “The Sound Voice Project”, composed by Hannah Conway, winner of the FEDORA Digital Prize 2023. This raw and intimate installation blends music, film projections, visual art, and an immersive acoustic experience to shed light on the lives of those who have lost their voice, offering a deeply moving exploration of identity and resilience.
Don't miss out the chance to attend to these magnificent productions at the Dutch Nationale Opera & Ballet!Discover the program and buy your tickets here.
Woman at Point Zero
Woman at Point Zero is a new opera based on the classic 1975 novel by the Egyptian writer Nawal El Saadawi. From this universal story of exploitation, erasure and the search for freedom, composer Bushra El-Turk, director Laila Soliman, writer Stacy Hardy and filmmaker Aida Elkashef create a new multimedia production that weaves together diverse creative visions and challenges conventions. Opera as a powerful voice for a new wave of feminism without borders.
Denis & Katya
Almost three years later, Opera Philadelphia and its co-commission partners Music Theatre Wales and Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier brought their tragic story to the stage with Denis & Katya, a chamber opera by British composer Philip Venables and American librettist and stage director Ted Huffman. This World Premiere used the power of opera to explore how stories are shaped and shared in our age of 24/7 digital connection.
The Sound Voice Project
The Sound Voice Project is a unique immersive digital-opera performance installation for flexible, interactive spaces exploring voice and identity: co-created with interdisciplinary partners in healthcare, technology, science and biomedical research, and people with lived experience of voice loss.
