Queen of the Nile, a hybrid theater opera, unravels the sexualization of women in media, politics and mythology, exploring the pitfalls of seeking truth amidst a radicalized political climate and the invasive presence of news and social media.
Born out of real life journalist Lara Logan’s traumatic sexual assault in Egypt by a mob of two hundred, Queen of the Nile, (a hybrid theater opera), unravels the sexualization of women in media, politics and mythology, exploring the pitfalls of seeking truth amidst a radicalized political climate and the invasive presence of news and social media.
The libretto is original text by Mariana Newhard with additional material adapted from Logan’s interviews, media posts, and Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. In collaboration with composer Dina Emerson, the score is an idiosyncratic vocabulary from pedestrian dialogue to operatic singing and spaces in between: spoken word, sprechstimme, tonal chorus, vocal landscapes, incantations, throat singing, overtone singing and musical harmonies, coalescing into a unique soundscape to articulate the collision of the quotidian, public and mythological.
Learn More: https://www.mariananewhard.com/queenofthenile