Svadba

six female voices a capella (4+2 or 3+3)

When Queen of Puddings Music Theatre approached me to write an opera for six female voices, I took this opportunity to explore the wedding theme, especially the night before the ceremony, when we are privy to private and ancient rituals between the bride and her girlfriends.

The text is taken from original Serbian poetry but given a new context for our contemporary culture. The music is derived from traditional folklore. The compositional structure is informed by everyday images and objects – such as hair, cups, and water. The scenes unfold, not in a linear narrative, but in a playful interconnection animated through drama, distilling magic and fantasy from ordinary moments.

A wedding is an important turning point in every woman’s life, usually steeped in tradition and always signifying change and juncture. Milica’s rite of passage is universal, an archetype of human experience. Svadba offers a chance to delve deep into the quality and richness of a short but decisive moment in time.