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Jul 2026Conference paper - Opera Decolonized: Listening to Afghan Women's Voices (Art of Research, Aalto 2026)
From Silencing to Listening: Opera-Installation as Cross-Cultural Medium for Afghan Women’s Voices
Paper presented at the Art of Research conference at Aalto University (2026)
Summary
Unknown, I Live With You (2018) was built around a problem: how do you bring clandestine writings by Afghan women into a Western artistic space without reproducing the very structures that silenced them? This paper, written as a member of The Airport Society collective, traces the formal decisions behind the opera-installation — venue, costume, casting, composition, audience placement, temporal structure — and argues that each one was an ethical choice as much as an artistic one.
At the heart of the argument is opera’s fundamental strength: a form where music, staging, dramaturgy, costume, and space are genuinely co-equal, demanding total presence from its audience. The paper asks whether that quality can be turned against opera’s own colonial tendencies — and whether a non-hierarchical working process, from democratic decision-making to shared yoga sessions before rehearsals, can mirror and reinforce what happens on the stage.
The paper will be presented at the Art of Research 2026 conference at Aalto University. It is currently available as a preprint on SocArXiv.
Links
Preprint: From Silencing to Listening — SocArXiv
Related links:
Unknown, I Live With You — OperaVision · Afghan Women’s Writing ProjectConference: https://events.aalto.fi/en/3X3IKxA7/g/82Z1zDshz8/art-of-research-2026-4a3bQtTRKz/overview
Citation
Głowicka, Kasia. 2026. “From Silencing to Listening: Opera-Installation as Cross-Cultural Medium for Afghan Women’s Voices.” Preprint. SocArXiv. https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/m2hnq_v1.
Jun 2026Conference paper - The Space In-Between: Creative Skill and Cognitive Transitions in the Age of Prompt-Based AI (CHIWORK
The Space In-Between: Creative Skill and Cognitive Transitions in the Age of Prompt-Based AI
Paper presented at the Agency and Skill in Human-AI Interaction workshop, CHIWORK ’26 — the 5th Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction for Work
Summary
Recent neuroscientific evidence is beginning to suggest that prompt-based interaction with large language models reduces brain connectivity and cognitive engagement compared to unaided creative work. For creative practitioners, this is not a peripheral concern — it points to a structural deskilling effect built into how generative AI tools are currently designed.
This paper proposes a practical concept for mitigating that effect: a model of two cognitive modes and three intersections between them, derived from my own compositional practice in algorithmic composition twenty years before generative AI tools became widely available. The framework identifies a single mechanism behind the deskilling effect of prompt-based systems — the elimination of transitions between cognitive modes — and argues that re-introducing those transitions is a teachable, practicable form of resistance.
The argument is grounded historically in Opalescence (2004/5), a piece for three female singers and electronics I composed during my practice-based PhD research at Queen’s University Belfast. At that time, working with algorithmic composition meant something categorically different from what “using AI” means today: there was no prompt field, no conversational layer. To get a system to produce material at all, one had to compose the system itself. Revisiting that practice from a 2026 vantage point makes visible what the prompt-response paradigm has eliminated: the transitions between modes of creative thinking that the cognitive science literature, from Wallas (1926) through to current neuroimaging studies, identifies as the site of creative skill development.
The paper closes with a provocation directed at the creative industry. The same analysis that applies to my own compositional practice applies, with local variation, to advertising, architecture, film, fashion, journalism, design, and the visual arts. What looks today like a productivity gain may, in this reading, be the accelerated obsolescence of an industry’s own workforce. The transition is the skill, and the work now is to make the space between modes inhabitable — in practice, in pedagogy, and eventually in the design of the tools themselves.
Links
Paper (workshop GitHub): Full text HERE
Workshop programme: https://agency-and-skill.github.io
Conference: https://chiwork.org/26/
Citation
Głowicka, K. The Space In-Between: Creative Skill and Cognitive Transitions in the Age of Prompt-Based AI. 5th Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction for Work, Agency and Skill in Human-AI Interaction Workshop, 2026. https://agency-and-skill.github.io/submissions/Glowicka\_2026\_Creative-Skill-and-Cognitive-Transitions-in-the-Age-of-Prompt-Based-AI\_CHIWORK.pdf
Jun 2026The Space In-Between — presented at CHIWORK, Linz
The Space In-Between: Creative Skill and Cognitive Transitions in the Age of Prompt-Based AI was presented at CHIWORK 2026 in Linz.
The question underneath it: when the tools generate, what happens to the skill that used to live in the making?
Sept 2025Article - Why We Still Need to keep making Music in the Age of AI
“it’s not only about what humans create—it’s about how creating makes us human.”
The Struggle Is the Point: Why Human Music-Making Matters in the Age of AI
Originally published at journal.crps.ai on September 22, 2025
In this article, Kasia Głowicka explores why the messy, time-consuming process of creating music is not just valuable—it’s essential to our humanity, even as AI can now generate songs in seconds.
Drawing on neuroscience, creativity research, and her own transformative experiences with composition, she makes a compelling case for why the creative struggle itself is non-negotiable.
The Essential Question Explored
As Kasia frames it: “Why endure the messy, time-consuming frustration of human creativity when a machine can do it within few clicks of a keyboard?”
Her answer is clear: Because the struggle itself is the healing, the growth, the essence of creativity. AI can serve as a tool for rapid prototyping and inspiration. But it cannot replace the fundamental human need to process our experiences through creative expression.
Read the full essay on Medium →
This essay resonates deeply with the philosophy behind works like “Unknown, I Live with You,” where the process of giving voice to silenced stories becomes as important as the finished opera itself.
Jun 2025'profound experience' Kozińska on 'Unknown, I live with you'
Dorota Kozińska describes her impressions from her visit to the dress rehearsal and the premiere in Brussels:
“I entered this space in the dark, surrounded by the music of Glowicka: minimalistic, hazy, but at the same time bursting with underlying emotion. A moment later, from the sounds of string quartet and live electronics, human voices emerged – the register-wandering voice of Lucia Lucas and the poignant scream of dancer Gala Moody. All good and bad memories from Afghanistan crossed my mind. The trauma was back. My doubts were gone. I knew already that the next day I will come face to face with the musicians, who profoundly experienced the tragedy of Afghan women and do not want to just reinterpret it, but to simply understand it.
Read more: http://atorod.pl
translation by Natalia Copeland
Jun 2025Saga of Sage — original soundtrack released
The soundtrack to the VR opera Saga of Sage is out, with five tracks written for the immersive performance in which twelve players share a virtual planet.
The film and the album are both on the work’s page.
Mar 2025Book - Testing the waters
book
Testing the Waters is a publication by CoECi (Centre of Expertise for Creative Innovation) that explores how the arts can contribute to social change without losing their unique power. Through essays, reflections, and examples, the book dives into the dynamic space where art, research, and education meet, asking how creative practices can be both critical and caring in a time of societal transformation. It aims to inspire artists, educators, and researchers to engage with complex social issues in a meaningful and responsible way.
Głowicka’s contribution offers a chapter that brings forward examples of art engaged with communities that are often marginalised, silenced, or overlooked. Her contribution focuses on how artistic practices can act as bridges—connecting with unserved voices and fostering a sense of recognition and agency through creative expression. Drawing from both established and emerging projects, Głowicka highlights the ethical and transformative potential of the arts when rooted in real community relationships.
Reference: De Waal, M., Idema, M., Steffen, E., Glowicka, K., Neves Alves, B., Van der Weiden, N. enHee-jeong Choi, J. (2025)
Link to the full text: Testing the waters
Dec 2024Article in Vogue
Kasia Głowicka Featured in Vogue December 2024 Edition (PL).
I’m thrilled to share that I’ve been featured in the December 2024 issue of Vogue! The article dives into my involvement in the production of Mahagonny—a modern interpretation of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. This captivating opera combines timeless themes of desire, loss, and societal collapse, resonating deeply with contemporary issues.
Under the direction of Krystian Lada, we explored a fresh and bold approach, merging music, drama, and visual storytelling to reflect today’s turbulent world. The production is a powerful dialogue between past and present, brought to life with innovative staging and a unique musical vision.
It’s an honor to be part of such an insightful feature and to collaborate with incredible artists pushing the boundaries of opera and theater.
For those interested, you can find the article in Vogue’s latest edition (Polish edition, December). Stay tuned for more updates and behind-the-scenes insights about Mahagonny—a production that is as relevant today as ever.
Dec 2024Afterparty premieres at Teatr Studio, Warsaw
AFTERPARTY: A Post-Utopian Songspiel premiered at Teatr Studio in Warsaw, directed by Krystian Lada, with lyrics by Bartosz “Fisz” Waglewski.
The evening pairs Weill and Brecht’s Mahagonny — Ein Songspiel with a contemporary response written for today’s Warsaw. Supported in part by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music.
Dec 2024Dutch FOUNDATION for literature grant
Prestigious Dutch Literature Grant (Nederlands Letterenfonds/ Dutch Foundation for Literature) has been awarded for Glowicka’s project collaborator, Sjaan Flikweert, for a new collaboration.
In the coming year, Sjaan and will be embarking on a new and inspiring journey with the project, delving into the world of emotions and self-discovery.
Dec 2024Interview and broadcast 'deep Down'
So, a little late to the party (classic me!), but guess what? My tunes invaded Dwójka - Program 2 Polskiego Radia not once, but twice! First, they slipped a few tracks from my latest album into the Nokturn show on the 5th of October. Then, they went all-in on the “Nowa Polska” show on 26th of October, dedicating a whole evening to my creations.
I had a chat with Ewa Szczecinska about inspirations, beginnings, and all that jazz. If you’re curious to listen to some talk in Polish or just need some background noise, check out the recording of the show below.
Thanks to everyone who tunes in!
Dec 2024Review 'Unknown, I live with you'
Thrilled to share yet another review of “Unknown, I live with you” by German online magazine Rattlermag:
“Polish composer Kasia Głowicka explores the junctions between extended techniques of operatic voice and the dramatic potential of live electronics. The emotionality of the folk-inspired melodies meets minimalism of form. It expresses the harshness of the living circumstances of the Afghani writers but as well the power of the female voice striving for emancipation. Sung by a collective of three singers who represent different visions of female/ male dynamics and potential of the human voice. Three strong women create the cast of the performance: the Polish opera diva Malgorzata Walewska, the American star of young generation Raehann Bryce-Davis and the transsexual opera singer Lucia Lucas.
Sept 2024Post with Vimeo Video
This is some dummy copy. You’re not really supposed to read this dummy copy, it is just a place holder for people who need some type to visualize what the actual copy might look like if it were real content.
If you want to read, I might suggest a good book, perhaps Hemingway or Melville. That’s why they call it, the dummy copy. This, of course, is not the real copy for this entry. Rest assured, the words will expand the concept. With clarity. Conviction. And a little wit.
In today’s competitive market environment, the body copy of your entry must lead the reader through a series of disarmingly simple thoughts.
Jul 2024Aero Photography
This is some dummy copy. You’re not really supposed to read this dummy copy, it is just a place holder for people who need some type to visualize what the actual copy might look like if it were real content.
If you want to read, I might suggest a good book, perhaps Melville. That’s why they call it, the dummy copy. This, of course, is not the real copy for this entry. Rest assured, the words will expand the concept. With clarity. Conviction. And a little wit.
In today’s competitive market environment, the body copy of your entry must lead the reader through a series of disarmingly simple thoughts.
All your supporting arguments must be communicated with simplicity and charm. And in such a way that the reader will read on. (After all, that’s a reader’s job: to read, isn’t it?) And by the time your readers have reached this point in the finished copy, you will have convinced them that you not only respect their intelligence, but you also understand their needs as consumers.
As a result of which, your entry will repay your efforts. Take your sales; simply put, they will rise. Likewise your credibility. There’s every chance your competitors will wish they’d placed this entry, not you. While your customers will have probably forgotten that your competitors even exist. Which brings us, by a somewhat circuitous route, to another small point, but one which we feel should be raised.
May 2024My weekend in Yosemite
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Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Vestibulum tortor quam, feugiat vitae, ultricies eget, tempor sit amet, ante. Donec eu libero sit amet quam egestas semper. Aenean ultricies mi vitae est. Mauris placerat eleifend leo. Quisque sit amet est et sapien ullamcorper pharetra. Vestibulum erat wisi, condimentum sed, commodo vitae, ornare sit amet, wisi. Aenean fermentum, elit eget tincidunt condimentum, eros ipsum rutrum orci, sagittis tempus lacus enim ac dui. Donec non enim in turpis pulvinar facilisis. Ut felis. Praesent dapibus, neque id cursus faucibus, tortor neque egestas augue, eu vulputate magna eros eu erat. Aliquam erat volutpat. Nam dui mi, tincidunt quis, accumsan porttitor, facilisis luctus, metus.
Apr 2024Interview with Arts Talk Radio Holland
Guest Interviewee
Episode aired on ArtsTalk Radio (2024)In this podcast episode, Michael Hasted talks to The Hague-based Polish composer and writer Kasia Głowicka about her creative work and her recent radio play LILIAN, exploring themes of memory, identity, and female voices in sound art. The episode also features an interview with comedian Greg Shapiro about his new book The American Netherlander. Recorded at the Diligentia Theatre in The Hague.
Listen to the full episode here (Kasia Głowicka @16:02 min).
Dec 2023Interview on Comenius senior fellowship award
Natalie Gils interviewed me on the occasion of receiving the Comenius Senior Fellowship.
I am thrilled to share exciting news about the progress of the Lectoraat Authentic Leadership at InHolland, where I am privileged to collaborate on innovative projects that explore the intersections of creativity, leadership, and education.
Recently, I received Comenius Senior Fellowship and the VIS (Virtual Internationalizational Sammenwerking) subsidy. These grants represent a significant step forward in promoting innovative and impactful approaches to leadership education and cross-cultural collaboration.
As part of this initiative, I am contributing to the development of projects that integrate arts-based methods, immersive technologies, and personal development strategies. These tools are designed to inspire resilience, creativity, and authentic connections in educational and professional environments.
Specifically, the VIS project leverages immersive technologies like VR to bridge geographical distances and foster meaningful collaboration across cultural and institutional boundaries. This aligns closely with my ongoing work on VR projects such as VIS, which begins its development phase this November.
The Comenius grant highlights the importance of leadership in shaping the future of education. It enables us to continue creating innovative curricula that empower both students and professionals to lead with authenticity and purpose.
Read the news here:
https://www.inholland.nl/nieuws/comenius--en-vis-subsidies-voor-lectoraat-authentic-leadership
Oct 2023'Music Perfect for Autumn': Polskie Radio Features Głowicka's 'Deep Down'
Featured on Polskie Radio Dwójka: Host Ewa Szczecińska explores Katarzyna Głowicka’s latest album “Deep Down”—intimate electronic miniatures wrapped in autumn mist and introspection.
In the “Nowa Polska” (New Poland) series—a program dedicated to the most important works of Polish contemporary music from the last three decades—composer Katarzyna Głowicka discusses her newest album released under the pseudonym Glou, and her lifelong journey with electronic music.
About “Deep Down”
The album consists of seven miniatures, some carrying deeply personal messages. As Głowicka explains in the broadcast, these pieces take on special dimension during autumn fogs and the approaching days of November—a season that seems made for minimalist music wrapped in electronics.
The collection creates an intimate sonic landscape that bridges personal narrative with abstract electronic exploration, showcasing the composer’s distinctive approach to electronic composition that has accompanied her creative searches since her youngest years.
Track Listing
- Venice in Amber (4:53)
- Deep Down (4:03)
- Music box for a Lost Child (4:08)
- A Night Ahead (2:14)
- Polar Pulse (4:20)
- Sand Storm (5:10)
- Questioning at the door (4:08)
Released on ARTEk Sounds, 2023
Why This Matters
The feature on Polskie Radio—Poland’s national public broadcaster—highlights Głowicka’s dual identity as both an opera composer tackling urgent social issues and an electronic music artist creating introspective, personal works. Her ability to move between the intimate world of ambient electronics and the monumental space of socially engaged opera demonstrates the breadth of her artistic vision.
The “Nowa Polska” series places contemporary Polish composers in conversation with their work, documenting the evolution of Polish music since 1989. Głowicka’s inclusion underscores her significance in Poland’s contemporary music landscape.
Listen to the full broadcast on Polskie Radio →
“Nowa Polska” / Polskie Radio Dwójka
Host: Ewa Szczecińska
Broadcast: October 26, 2023 at 22:15
Duration: 55:16About the Series: “Nowa Polska” is dedicated to the most important works of Polish contemporary music from the last three decades, beginning from 1989.
Jun 2021'Complex, yet accessible' Interview at 'Ruch Muzyczny'.
Complex, yet accessible - Interview with Ewa Szczecińska at “Ruch Muzyczny”. “Supposedly I have a GIFT to compose a melody. Why should I not use it? I like beautiful melodies a lot and I think the audience does not admit it too, but sometimes they DON’T admit it. “ [caption id=“attachment_5282” align=“aligncenter” width=“360”] Nederland, Rotterdam, 1 april 2021 Katarzyna Glowcka Componist Foto: Merlijn Doomernik Alle rechten voorbehouden / All rights reserved[/caption] photo: Merlijn Doomernik
Jun 2021On the cover of 'Ruch Muzyczny'
Kasia on the cover of the May issue of the leading Polish Music Magazine “Ruch Muzyzny” (Music Movement) Ruch Muzyczny | Issue 9, 2021 |
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Apr 2021April
Early spring months brought 2 film projects seeing premieres. “Sync” was premiered at Cine Dans Festival in Amsterdam, and promotional video for Penderecki’s Garden was premiered online. A brand new single - “Music in 3 parts” have been published on Spotify and other streaming services. Kasia has also been appointed researcher at InHolland Business University of Applied Science, where she is part of Authentic Leadership Lab, finding new ways of skill development thru arts. New scores: “Luminescence” and “She walks in beauty” have also been published by Donemus Publishing.
Jan 2021'Artforum', New York, reviews 'Audiosphere'
Insightful article on renowned artforum about the Exhibiton ““Audiosphere: Social Experimental Audio, Pre- and Post-Internet”; where my piece “I thought it was dream, but when I woke up I couldn’t walk” is part of.
Here you can read the whole review.
Jan 2021From Engaged Opera to Intercultural Performance: A Deep Dive into Głowicka's 'Unknown, I Live with You'
Zuzanna Hwang-Cempla explores how Katarzyna Głowicka’s opera-installation transforms Afghan women’s poetry into a powerful act of resistance and solidarity.
In her newly published article, musicologist Zuzanna Hwang-Cempla examines “Unknown, I Live with You”—a groundbreaking work by composer Katarzyna Głowicka and director Krystian Lada that challenges everything we think we know about contemporary opera.
Key Takeaways
Opera as Political Action: Five years ago, critic Marcin Bogucki declared opera a “living corpse” that tries to “escape from the world rather than confront it.” Głowicka and Lada’s work proves him wrong, directly confronting the brutal reality faced by women in Afghanistan.
Authentic Voices: The libretto uses texts by Afghan women from the Afghan Women’s Writing Project, giving voice to those systematically silenced. These aren’t dramatic fictions—they’re real testimonies of forbidden love, lost dignity, stolen childhoods, and defiant hope.
Breaking Opera’s Rules: Premiered as a six-hour installation in Brussels where audiences could come and go freely, the work dissolves boundaries between opera, performance art, and installation—what the creators call an “opera-installation.”
From Athens to Kabul: Hwang-Cempla draws a devastating parallel between ancient Athenian democracy (which excluded two-thirds of the population) and 21st-century Afghanistan, where being born female means systematic denial of basic human rights.
Performance Theory Meets Practice: The article analyzes the work through Erika Fischer-Lichte’s concept of performative reality production, examining how physicality, spatiality, sound, and temporality create meaning beyond traditional operatic conventions.
As we navigate conversations about women’s rights, artistic responsibility, and the role of culture in social change, Hwang-Cempla’s analysis offers crucial insights into how contemporary music can serve as both witness and weapon in the fight for human dignity.
Jan 2021Review of 'Lilian' at Culture Plug
Renowned Dutch critic Els van Swol takes on Lilian in her series “Culture plug” (De cultuurstekker )at 8weekly.nl LILIAN is a counterpart to film Notturno - a powerful documentary by Gianfranco Rosi. “The radio play lasts a little over twenty-four minutes, but life, survival, continues. Twenty-four hours a day.” With thanks to Miriam van Reisen.
Jan 2021Great review by '8weekly' magazine
In her series “De cultuurstekker” (the culture plug) Els van Swol reviews “Lilian” at 8weekly magazine with great words: “The radio play lasts a little over twenty-four minutes, but life, survival, continues. Twenty-four hours a day. Yet hope remains alive, like the impending day in Notturno. Hope for a cure, for survival, for contact, for people who sympathize and want to vouch for each other. That keeps people going. “
Below fragments in original Dutch:
Het hoorspel van Kasia Głowicka begint met piepjes. Het is het geluid van een sms’je dat een Eritrese man, Tesfay, die in Libië gevangen zit in het Zitan Detention Centre, stuurt aan Lilian, professor mensenrechten. Hij vond haar nummer in een gsm die hij had geleend. Lilian zit op dat moment te ontbijten en je hoort de dagelijkse geluiden daarvan op de achtergrond. Rammelende bordjes geven een ritme aan alsof het slagwerkinstrumenten zijn. Je hoort een man herhaaldelijk roepen dat het tijd is, gevolgd door stilte, want ook in dit hoorspel zit veel stilte, dodelijke stiltes, zware stiltes, hier gevolgd door elektronica en pianoklanken. Deze geluiden vormen samen de ouverture, gelijk Notturno een intro kent. Daarna komt ook hier het verhaal op gang.
Weer hoor je piepjes, maar dat kunnen nu ook die van een hartbewakingsapparaat in het ziekenhuis zijn; het geluid is even dubbel als het beeld van de man in de kano in *Notturno.*Je hoort een vrouwenstem: ‘How are you?’ De ontvangst stoort. Weer klinkt elektronica, je hoort stemmen. En weer: ‘How are you?’ van Lilian aan Tesfay. Er volgt een stilte en vervormde pianoklanken. En dan: ‘How is she today? How was the night?’ Het gaat over de dochter in het ziekenhuis. De klanken van de muziek zijn donker, als de nacht in Notturno.
Lilian gaat fluisterend verder tegen Tesfay. Hij vertelt haar, dat alle vluchtelingen huilen, worden geslagen en dat sommigen worden verkracht. Opnieuw klinken ritmisch piepjes, als in een echokamer opgenomen. De piepjes van de sms’jes en de hartbewakingsmachine lijken zich met elkaar te vermengen. Op leven en dood.
Lilian en Tesfay praten verder. Tesfay is ten einde raad en wil naar Nederland komen, naar Lilian en haar gezin om te trouwen met een van haar verwanten. De verpleegster zegt tegen Lilian, dat zij naar huis moet gaan om te slapen, maar ze blijft en wil de hand van het kind vasthouden. En misschien in gedachten ook die van Tesfay, zo ver weg zonder dat ze veel voor hem kan doen. Het hoorspel is ten einde.
Het hoorspel duurt iets meer dan vierentwintig minuten, maar het leven, het overleven, gaat door. Vierentwintig uur per etmaal. Toch blijft ook de hoop levend, zoals de nakende dag in *Notturno.*Hoop op genezing, op overleven, op contact, op mensen die met elkaar meeleven en voor elkaar willen instaan. Dat houdt mensen op de been.”
Dec 2020'Opera Wire' magazine calls 'Lilian' a psychological masterwork
Polina Lyapustina calls “Lilian” “…A Psychological Masterwork That Will Leave You Begging for the Single Sound of Music” in her review.
Fragments from the review:
“The refugee crisis is a difficult topic, and so I presumed that pure emotions would become a sure guide in writing this review. But in fact, it took me two weeks to simply explain—first, to myself—how am I going to convince you to listen to this undoubtedly important yet unbearably difficult piece.
The radio play “Lilian,” which I’m not calling an opera, will show you more horrors of reality than you are used to seeing. This piece makes you discover the weakest and the most frightening parts inside of your self even though it says nothing directly about you.”
To read the whole review go to Opera Wire - here is the link to the review.
You can listen to Lilian here:
https://open.spotify.com/track/5CybqzjFP1QymZHYolc7ee?si=qEarHwCWSvSaQ50EB-HIGg
Dec 2020Renowned Opera Vision streaming of 'Unknown, I live with you'
OperaVision, Europe’s premier free streaming platform for opera, has added Unknown, I Live With You to its collection—bringing this groundbreaking opera-installation to audiences worldwide.
The platform, which streams productions from leading opera houses across 17 countries, features the work alongside its catalogue of the world’s most celebrated operas. This marks a significant recognition of Katarzyna Głowicka and Krystian Lada’s innovative piece as essential contemporary opera.
Why This Matters
OperaVision’s decision to stream Unknown, I Live With You coincides with Opera Europa and the European Concert Hall Organisation’s Afghanistan Charter—a commitment to support the visibility of Afghan music and musicians launched on World Opera Day 2021.
The production spotlights poignant poems by contemporary Afghan writers known as Roya, Meena Z., Fattemah AH and Freshta, who participated in the Afghan Women’s Writing Project and dared to defy rules under Taliban regime. In Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, writing and artistic expression were outlawed, making these anonymous testimonies a rare glimpse into unfiltered reality.
What You’ll Experience
Filmed in Brussels at Les Brigittines, a former Baroque chapel turned performing arts space, the installation allows viewers to witness an intimate, immersive performance where audience and performers share the same space. The production features:
- Polish mezzo-soprano Małgorzata Walewska
- American mezzo Raehann Bryce-Davis
- American transgender baritone Lucia Lucas
- Katarzyna Głowicka’s avant-garde score merging operatic voice with live electronics
- A string quartet and dancer in a unique triptych structure
By dismantling the convention of frontal staging, the performance urges viewers to leave behind the categories of ‘us’ and ‘them’, creating a space where Afghan women’s voices exist not as distant suffering but as immediate, undeniable presence.
Watch “Unknown, I Live With You” on OperaVision →
OperaVision is a free streaming service offering opera performances from Europe’s leading houses. The platform is funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.
Dec 2020ArtsTalk Magazine and radio - interview and broadcast with Michael Hasted.
Michael Hasted from ArtsTalk Magazine talks to me (@16.02 mins)about my work and about the radio play LILIAN.
Transcript of the talk:
LILIAN, the debut radio play from award-winning composer Kasia Głowicka, who lives in The Hague, will have its Dutch premiere on ArtsTalk Radio at the beginning of January.
Based on a true story and using real WhatsApp message transcripts as its source material, LILIAN takes us into the lives of a refugee trapped in the notorious Zitan Detention Centre in Libya and the human rights professor who is trying to aid him from her home in Europe.
The source material for this play is an extensive archive ofWhatsApp messages exchanged between a real-life professor and a young Eritrean man trapped in a Libyan refugee camp. How did you come to hear about it?
Several years ago I organized a seminar about Alan Turing, the computing pioneer. Professor Mirjam van Reisen was one of the speakers. She lectures on Computing for Society at Leiden University and she is absolutely fascinating to listen to.
We kept in touch after the seminar. One day, when I was visiting her at her office in Brussels, she revealed to me that she was in communication with a young man being held in the Zintan Detention Centre in Libya.
He had found her number on a document somewhere, stored it in a borrowed cellphone and then used WhatsApp to message her and plead for help with his situation. by the time she told me about it, they had been in communication for around eighteen months. When it was all printed out, it ran to 350 pages.
Although they were on different continents and really living in different worlds, through this constant messaging they became a daily presence in each others’ lives. It wasn’t just text: he would send her pictures and videos of the camp, things which were happening to him and around him.
This young man was living through so much trauma on a daily basis but bureaucracy moves so slowly. What was it like for her, over the course of that eighteen months, to be trying to help him but unable to make anything happen quickly?
She’s a professor and a mother, so her day-to-day life is busy. Sometimes it was hard for her to balance that with her efforts to help this young man.
She would be physically present but her mind would be on Libya, or a new message would arrive and immediately draw her into this world again. At times she felt she was living two different lives simultaneously. She also felt a lot of guilt, both for not being fully present and available for her family and also for being safe from harm while Tesfay was at risk every day.
At the same time, there were often moments of humour in their conversations. Her daughter watches a reality TV show called Love Island. The show’s concept is simple – until you find yourself trying to explain it in writing to someone who comes from a completely different culture.
What made you decide to turn this story into a radio play?
The transcript lay on my desk for a while. I knew I wanted to do something with it, but wasn’t sure exactly what format. I was thinking about some sort of interactive project, but then Warsaw Autumn approached me with the offer to write a radio play for this year’s festival.
At first I declined, because I’ve never done one before, but that was kind of the point of the offer: the festival likes to take artists out of their comfort zone. So then my mind turned towards this story and how it could be adapted into a radio play.
It was an interesting challenge for me because not only was it my first radio play, it was also the first time anyone would be attempting to take a WhatsApp conversation – complete with photos, emojis and so on – and try and adapt that into a performative work.
In the end I felt like I could do it. I had some experience with writing when I was younger and it probably would have been an alternative career for me had I not chosen music. Also, as a composer, you already have a sort of sense for the elements of drama, such as creating suspense and shock and so on.
What are you hoping listeners will take away fromLILIAN?**
For me, it’s a story which illustrates the power of hope. Two people from different worlds are united by their shared sense of humanity. Both are going through dark times – in the play, her character has a comatose daughter on life support – but they never lose hope and they carry each other through.
It also touches on some themes which are very relevant to our times. The refugee crisis has mostly disappeared from the front pages in Europe but remains a daily struggle for thousands of people.
As a sort of background character in the play, WhatsApp illustrates the power of technology to connect people no matter where they are in the world. People can be in each other’s lives despite being separated by geography and other barriers.
I’ve witnessed first-hand how a shared sense of suffering can unite people. I arrived in the Netherlands in 2001 to study music at the Royal Music Conservatory just a few days before 9/11 happened.
Back then the fees were very low, which meant that students came from all over the world: America, South America, Asia, Africa, everywhere. The community was amazing. When 9/11 happened, there was this sudden camaraderie. Everyone came together in an empathy of pain as they we tried to understand what had happened and how the world was about to change.
Right now are are living through another global-level event. The coronavirus has brought the world almost to a halt for the past six months. Did that have any effect on producingLILIAN?**
Usually a play would like this would bring everyone together in a studio, so there’s a uniform recording level and the voice actors can feed off each other. Because of travel restrictions, all the recording had to be done remotely.
That was a challenge but it was also an opportunity. I wanted to maintain as much authenticity as possible, so I worked remotely with a voice actor in Europe and a voice actor in Africa. That distance between the voice actors also mirrored the distance between the real-life protagonists.
There were some technical issues. The European voice actor had access to better recording facilities than the voice actor in Africa did – he had no noise-cancelling microphone, for instance – so there was some work to be done in getting the qualities similar. But I’m very pleased with how it all turned out.
Dec 2020News for December
“Luminescence” will be performed during the Festival Dag in de Branding’s award ceremony for Yannis Kyriakides on 12th of December 2020.
GOK choir, Dutch Choir Music NOW project, and conductor Benjamin Goodson made a recording which will be part of Dutch Choir Music Now initiative and prestigious string Quartett “Kwartet Slazki” together with Polish National Radio and TV Orchestra NOSPR commissioned a new piece for 2021.