A chamber opera about refugee children and the trauma of mass displacement will premiere next year at Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, it was announced Saturday.
The work “Ruinous Gods” tells the story of a mother and her 12-year-old daughter who are forced to run away from home. The opera brings to mind the recent crises surrounding refugee families and immigrant children in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and beyond.
French-born, Lebanese-raised violinist and composer Rael Chakar writes music to a libretto by Lisa Schlesinger, a playwright, activist and educator from New York.
“‘Gods of Destruction’ This speaks to the insane political quagmire that drags down the most vulnerable people in the world,” said Spoleto General Director Mena Mark Hannah. “The aftertaste of this piece, especially as a father, shook me from the bottom of my heart.”
Known for bringing together artists from across disciplines and commissioning innovative works, the festival has in recent years aimed to address contemporary social issues more directly.
Last year, Spoleto premiered Omar, an opera by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels, based on the autobiography of Omar ibn Said, a West African Muslim who was enslaved and deported to Charleston in 1807. This work has continued since then. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
“Ruinous Gods” focuses on a condition known as resignation syndrome, in which lost children fall into a coma. It is loosely based on the Greek story of Persephone and Demeter.
Schlesinger said he started thinking about the story in 2015 when large numbers of Syrian immigrants flooded into Europe. report About the resignation syndrome that affected refugee children in Sweden in 2017.
“I could feel the children inside my body. It’s like feeling like you have to sleep in order to be out in the world,” she said. “That’s exactly how this piece started.”“
Cheker said her desire for the job is to spark new conversations about how governments and societies treat immigrant families.
“I hope this gives us a way to question our legacy, the status quo of the world we leave to our children,” she said. “How can we do better? And how can we ensure that we leave them a kinder and fairer world so they can continue to live?”
