Artists Unite
A #360ofOpera commentary on Woman.Life.Freedom. – A Benefit Concert for Human Rights in Iran, initiated by Cameron Shahbazi, filmed at Oper Frankfurt in December 2022. Written by Chloe Yutong Yang.
My search for the warmest, most authentic instrument has led me back to the human voice, time and time again. It’s supported by our breath, a life-sustaining force. The sheer discipline that goes into fine-tuning this instrument housed in our body. The willpower that goes into bringing out the soaring notes. The coordination. The resonance with our surroundings. And above all else, the causes and people we choose to lend our voices to.
Stripped of all the glamour that is normally associated with opera and its cascades of coloratura, Iranian-Canadian countertenor Cameron Shahbazi spearheads the Woman.Life.Freedom. Benefit Concert for Human Rights in Iran. He opens on a note of pure, humble yearning: the narrator in “Black is the Colour of My True Love’s Hair” sings of a love he harbors but cannot hold. It’s a far cry from a siren reeling in some hapless sailor, but rather a pledge of fidelity, the wistful longing that the diaspora proclaims for the motherland.
Cameron Shahbazi
After the bittersweet “La flûte enchantée” rendered passionately by the Dutch-Iranian soprano Lilian Farahani, the recital descends into the afflicted prayer of “Ich habe genug” sung in Farsi, a devout anchor in a tumultuous sea of unrest. The next three baroque pieces performed by the stately Anna Bonitatibus, with the Iranian-American Mahan Esfahani accompanying her on the harpsichord, mark a fiery transition from the heretofore distraught musical numbers.
The second half of the program features renowned arias, from the plaintive wails of “Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore” and “Song to the Moon,” sung by sopranos Ambur Braid and Kristine Opolais, to the Persian Fire Dance delivered by virtuosic Austrian-Iranian cellist Kian Soltani, who transports the audience to the distant beautiful land of Iran. This exquisitely balanced concert spotlights stunning talents with Iranian roots, joined by prominent performers from all over the world, who all care deeply about human rights in Iran. The eclectic program, which runs the gamut of poetry readings, works by Iranian composers, and music focusing on women — their suffering and hopes for freedom — is a manifestation of our shared humanity.
Kristine Opolais
As the open letter co-signed by the artists so eloquently declares, the benefit concert is a courageous affirmation of life itself, and the “basic rights enshrined in what it means to be human.” It is a powerful call to action that gives back to a rich, nurturing civilization, and is in turn an answer to the “courage of the Iranian people who rise together to throw off the repressive evils they currently face.” There is heroism in taking a stand and raising our voices —
For Woman - Life - Freedom | آزادی - زندگی - زن
-concert photography by Fabrizio Sansoni