The work Divine Feminine by British-Iranian composer Shiva Feshareki is many things at once, but it is not – as it was presented – an opera.
The show premiered at St Martin-in-the-Fields in central London, where the church space was transformed into a “360° soundscape”, with intricate amplification that included the nave, gallery and altar.
Rather than a classical opera, Divine Feminine is closer to an art installation, a form of musical theater, or even a meditative ritual. What it lacks is the very essence that usually defines opera: a story constructed and told through music and song.
This is not a matter of stylistic purism. Terms matter because they create a framework of expectations for the audience. When a work lacks a clear artistic architecture – a structure against which music and ideas can collide, cling to, or dismantle – it risks losing its energy.
In this case, the meditation on “divine femininity” – an idea that is not clearly defined in the play – attempts to combine fertility, sisterhood, rebirth and the energy of the goddesses. But amidst the songs, cheers, dances and rhythms stamped on the stage, the play fails to find a clear focus.
Poet Karen McCarthy Woolf’s text doesn’t function like a classical libretto, but more like a series of poems – some sung, most recited. At its center is the story of the Celtic goddess Brigid, who, with the help of a “grimoire” of goddesses from different cultures and a teenager named Snowdrop, must overthrow the patriarchy and summon the return of spring. An ambitious mission for an hour-long work.
Soprano Emma Tring was a powerful and fearless Brigid, moving with intensity from dramatic cries to folk melodies with Irish colors. Her voice sounded sweet at times, harsh at times, and full of primitive energy.
She was supported by the top voices of the BBC Singers and young singers of Vox Next Gen, led by conductor Lucy Goddard. Feshareki himself performed on turntable and electric guitar – played with a bow, not a percussion instrument – manipulating the sound in real time.
However, the question remains: what artistic conclusion does all this bring? When the digital effects and acoustic illusion are removed, only a few dense chords, a folk song, and a few repeated mantras remain. For a work that aims to achieve spiritual and cosmic dimensions, this turns out to be very little. /GazetaExpress/
t7 live
