Composer

Beauty. Sacrifice. Resilience. Seattle Opera World Premiere. Set against Afghanistan’s volatile history, this new opera tells the breathtaking story of Mariam and Laila, two Afghan women. Brought together under the brutal Taliban rule, the bond between Laila and Mariam leads to unthinkable sacrifices and ultimately, one family’s survival. Based on Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel, this story has captured the hearts of millions including American composer Sheila Silver and librettist Stephen Kitsakos who adapted the novel for the opera stage. Directing the production is Afghan filmmaker Roya Sadat, whose trailblazing work as one of Afghanistan’s first female film directors has garnered more than 20 international film awards, including the 2021 Kim Dae-jung Nobel Peace Film Award and the 2018 International Women of Courage Award presented by the United States Department of State.

EPSG:4326

WORLD PREMIERE - A Thousand Splendid Suns

Seattle Center

Beauty. Sacrifice. Resilience. Seattle Opera World Premiere. Set against Afghanistan’s volatile history, this new opera tells the breathtaking story of Mariam and Laila, two Afghan women. Brought together under the brutal Taliban rule, the bond between Laila and Mariam leads to unthinkable sacrifices, and ultimately, one family’s survival. Based on Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel, this story has captured the hearts of millions including American composer Sheila Silver and librettist Stephen Kitsakos who adapted the novel for the opera stage. Directing the production is Afghan filmmaker Roya Sadat, whose trailblazing work as one of Afghanistan’s first female film directors has garnered more than 20 international film awards, including the 2021 Kim Dae-jung Nobel Peace Film Award and the 2018 International Women of Courage Award presented by the United States Department of State.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Beauty. Sacrifice. Resilience. Seattle Opera World Premiere. Set against Afghanistan’s volatile history, this new opera tells the breathtaking story of Mariam and Laila, two Afghan women. Brought together under the brutal Taliban rule, the bond between Laila and Mariam leads to unthinkable sacrifices and ultimately, one family’s survival.

A Songbook based on the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay.

BEAUTY INTOLERABLE

Bowes Center

World premiere performance of the Sorel organization 2020 commission: If Trees Could Talk by Sheila Silver with four solo singers, piano, Tibetan singing bowls and video projections by filmmaker John Feldman. Also included is the 2022 Sorel commission by Juhi Bansal. The texts to this work are landays, a traditional 2-line Afghani form of oral poetry created, sung and shared by women. The texts are on the themes of love, grief, war, exile, and how women see themselves and are seen in society. Works of the 6 distinguished composers-in-residence will also be highlighted.

Sheila Silver

Composer

Events

Feb 25 - Mar 11, 2023

WORLD PREMIERE - A Thousand Splendid Suns · American Opera Project

Feb 25 - Mar 11, 2023

A Thousand Splendid Suns · Seattle Opera

Feb 25 - Mar 11, 2023

A Thousand Splendid Suns · McCaw Hall

Jun 18, 2022

BEAUTY INTOLERABLE · SongFest

Jun 12, 2022

CELEBRATING AMERICAN COMPOSERS · SongFest

About

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