For Women, by Women
Mums and Women every where, no matter age, ethnicity and social status – we see you, we hear you, we feel you. Join us to celebrate the fun, the ugly, the guilt, the pleasure

With Canadian Contemporary Soprano Sarah Parkin

Concert Preview at Hundred Years Gallery in London on 15th December 2022 at 1pm

Pre-book your ticket for free here

Follow our journey on social media
Instagram: @_raniagold | @sarahnparkin
Facebook: Rania Chrysostomou Composer
Twitter: @RaniaGold | @sarahnparkin

The generation of women who are in their 30s, as the creators of “On Being Vocal” British-Cypriot composer Rania Chrysostomou and Canadian experimental soprano Sarah Parkin, has grown up being imposed on certain expectations of how and what they are allowed to dream and aspire to be. Those who have manage to overcome these expectations on their journey to adulthood and womanhood and those who have found their way to parenthood discover that once becoming a mother as in Rania’s case — which according to the common voice of society dictates that a woman has to be a mother — there are even more nuances that have been embedded as ‘acceptable behaviours’ in the subconscious.

With this project Rania and Sarah set out to represent women working in the arts as creative practitioners. At the moment it seems few women remain (M. Altman in NYTimes publd. May 2021, E.Doolittle Composing and Motherhood publd.Apr 2017) after having children. They are leading the way to create a safe, sustainable and empowering future in the opera for mums and non-mums alike.

Through experimental and collaborative work between them, Rania and Sarah are presenting a 40-minute a capella, one-woman, micro-opera that embodies the non vocalised thoughts of mums and women: how rigid routines affect their mental health, the feelings of guilt and stress imposed by the media and older generations, how media presents a distorted reality of motherhood, the inequalities girls faced in their upbringing and how that is shaping their adult lives; thoughts that would make them feel guilty, embarrassed, vulnerable if vocalised. They will be working with visual artist Catherine Valve to create a video that will add depth and an additional layer to the storytelling of the performance.

The sound identity of the show is a fusion between lyricism, futuristic, experimental vocalisations and sounds, and theatricality. They embody repetitive a capella singing where the performer achieves a semi-conscious mental state while the audience is entranced in the experience, with stand-up comedy, sung / narrated / non-vocal commentary, pantomime, storytelling, cabaret. 

Primary focus audience are mums who might also be new, single, immigrant, feel alone, want to connect and feel empowered for being a woman, regardless of their affiliation with contemporary opera. Women will see themselves represented and feel seen in “On Being Vocal”.  

The project had a closed preview to a limited audience in December of 2022 at Hundred Years Gallery in London, where Sarah and Rania presented their ideas and what they had developed until that point which was 6 song-sketches. 

In the following months the performance shown in the recording will be developed further the dramaturgy, add costume design and a video projection created by Catherine Valve.