“This Opera is the tip of the iceberg of the new international wave of politically conscious art music that we have seen little of to date on the large Swedish concert stages, but which is finding alternative spaces such as Bastionen in Malmö.”/ Hanna Höglund, Expressen
Valerie’s voice is based on Valerie Solana’s SCUM manifesto. The opera form is open, flexible and written for soprano, four electric guitars and electronics. The unusual form and cast means that the work can be completely changed depending on the dramaturgy and stage direction. It is unusual for a newly written opera to be staged several times after its first premiere. The music in Valerie’s voice bridges different musical worlds and creates something new and relevant for the audience of our time.
“Fragments of the manifesto become flesh and blood– yes, even a uterus that the costume designer Åsa Gjerstad has drawn on the singer’s underwear. Helena Röhr’s direction allows Pfeiffer to play with body language in an exposé of submissive female roles and macho poses. Prerecorded recitation of the texts alternate with the voice part in a musical power struggle between frenetic fingering on strings and Solanas’ furious settling of scores with the cult of the male genius. She lustily rips apart the pages of a musical score and proclaims that everything a man touches ”turns to shit”./Johanna Paulsson, Dagens Nyheter
Valerie’s voice was staged in Germany2023 at Stadttheater Gießen and Hochschule für Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt.
