Shooka Afshar: On opera: Women / Immigration / Fight or Flight

In this episode, we speak to Quantum Soprano and Composer, Shooka Afshar. The talk centers around Afshar’s opera, Women / Immigration / Fight or Flight, and her upcoming performance at El Nido art space, presented by VC Projects located in East Hollywood. This is a short talk discussing the inspiration and how the opera came about.

Women / Immigration / Fight or Flight is a mixed media opera based on Shooka Afshar’s true-life story, composed by Shooka Afshar. This opera depicts the challenges of women who had to immigrate to another country to follow their dreams, to be able have a normal life, and to fight for their basic rights. This is opera tells the story of Shooka Afshar's life who changed her circumstances from being ridiculed of wanting to be a singer, to a women who is now praised for her art and knowledge in the US. This opera has a universal message to all the women of the world who have been working hard to improve their lives and reach their dreams, in the midst of the most suppressed societies and lack of resources. Shooka Afshar’s first bachelor’s degree was in Physics, due to not being able to study arts and music academically. Moreover, to this day, women are not allowed to sing in public in front of men in Iran. In this mixed media opera, Shooka is sharing the strength of a woman who’s been receiving the message of “women shouldn’t be loud and laugh loud”, “women are not allowed to sing” and “womanhood is a shame”, and yet she decided not to be a victim of her circumstances. “I hope this opera inspires all the women who self-doubt and second guess themselves, and remind them the power of choice”, Shooka Afshar.

Shooka Afshar, Soprano, City of Boston Certified Artist, is a classical/opera singer from Iran, composer, flutist, pianist, and music entrepreneur. She finished her undergraduate and received her Master’s degree in Classical Vocal Performance at Longy School of Music in Boston in 2014. Shooka is an advocate for women’s rights, and her recent mixed media project is an opera based on her life story, portraying women who overcome extreme challenges to find out who they truly are and break free of society’s chains. She premiered her opera Women / Immigration / Fight or Flight at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston online in March 2021. She is currently planning to tour her opera nationally and also internationally, including a performance at Casa Regis, Italy in summer 2022. Shooka’s life story documentary will be released soon, created by Asma Khoshmher for the documentary department at Emerson College, Boston.   

For more information visit: www.vcprojects.art and the artist’s website: www.shookaafshar.com