A global ensemble led by Camille Bordet brings together the voices and music of remarkable women from India, Iran and Europe, reviving forgotten stories through song, poetry and shared memory.
Across cultures and centuries, women have turned to poetry and music to express love, longing, faith, resistance and freedom. ‘The Book of Queens’, Malekeh Nâmeh in Persian, brings these stories into conversation through a transcultural concert spanning India, Iran and Europe.
Led by Persian-speaking classical vocalist Camille Bordet, the work draws inspiration from the lives and writings of heroines, mystics, poets, warriors and composers including Mirabai, Lal Ded, Akka Mahadevi, Rabea Balkhi, Gordafarid, Hildegard of Bingen and Barbara Strozzi. Their stories explore love in its many forms – earthly and divine, intimate and forbidden, imagined and sacrificial – across vastly different times and cultures.
The music emerges from the artists themselves, bringing European early music, Persian classical traditions, Hindustani vocals and the folk sounds of Rajasthan into dialogue. Through improvisation, reimagined early repertoire and original compositions, written traditions meet oral lineages, creating new connections between distinct musical worlds.
Bordet is joined by Hindustani vocalist Smita Bellur, guitarist Madeleine Owen, tar artist Maryam Tazhdeh, kamancheh artist Saeed Kamjoo, kamaicha artist Kode Khan Manganiyar and Persian percussionist Hamin Honari. Co-commissioned and co-produced by Jodhpur RIFF as a tribute to the women of Rajasthan and their place in Marwar’s history, ‘The Book of Queens’ is represented by Aria Management, with AFE as its production and India tour partner.
Event venue
The Studio Theatre, NMACC, Jio World Centre, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051, India
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