2:30PM

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. 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?

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.