Bushra El-Turk: Woman at Point Zero

• Time:

  • Fri 29.8.2025 20:00

  • Sat 30.8.2025 14:30

  • Duration: 45 min

• Address:

  Finnish National Opera, Almi Hall
  Helsinginkatu 58
  00250 Helsinki

• Tickets:

  45–50 / 31,50–45 € (oopperabaletti.fi)

  Get tickets

Event Introduction

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. 

Age recommendation: 13+
Language: English and Arabic, surtitles in Finnish and English

Credits:

LOD / Laila Soliman, Bushra El-Turk & Stacy Hardy: Woman at Point Zero

composition Bushra El-Turk direction Laila Soliman libretto Stacy Hardy text based on Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi published by Zed Books- Bloomsbury Publishing Plc scenography Bissane Al Charif video design Bissane Al Charif & Julia König director’s assistant Barbara T’Jonck & Nadia Amin composer’s assistant Furkan Keçeli documentary audio fragments Aida Elkashef musical direction Kanako Abe assistant musical director Ivan Cheng singers Dima Orsho & Carla Nahadi Babelegoto ensemble ZAR: Hyelim Kim (taegum), Milos Milivojevic (accordéon), Raphaela Danksagmuller (recorders, fujara, duduk, kaval), Chatori Shimizu (sho), Faraz Eshghi Sahraei (kamancha), Hanna Kölbel / Tamaki Sugimoto (cello) repetitor & live samples Samir Bendimered costumes Eli Verkeyn stage manager Patrick Vanderhaegen light design Loes Schakenbos  video Johannes Ringoot / Brecht Debackere light Jamy Hollebeke sound Carlo Thompson / Guillaume Desmet production manager Liesbet Termont production LOD muziektheater coproduction All Aria’s festival (deSingel Antwerpen, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Concertgebouw Brugge & Transparant), Royal Opera House London, Shubbak Festival London, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Britten Pears Arts & Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg) with thanks to Kathleen Venneman & Victor Hidalgo with the support of enoa (European Network of Opera Academies), PRS Foundation, FEDORA, AFAC (The Arab Fund for Art and Culture), the British Council & the TAX Shelter Measure by the Belgian federal government tax shelter partner Flanders TAX Shelter 

with special thanks to Mariem Abutaleb, Joel Bell, Nawal El Saadawi, Nedjma Elhadj, Shady Elhusseiny, Michael Elisson, Victor Hidalgo, Rebecca Merritt, Ahmed Saaty, David Sawyer, Kathleen Venneman, Peter Wiegold, Kate Wyatt & Ruth Wyner

In co-operation with:

Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation

Categories

Classical and Contemporary Music

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