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Holland Festival: Qaqnas

Huba de Graaf, Naaz
Thu 11 Jun ’26 - Sun 14 Jun ’26
Poetry, rebellious women, do-it-yourself-electronics and extravagant costumes: in this musical kitchen, an energetic all-female Kurdish opera about freedom comes to life.
Thu 11 Jun ’26
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Sun 14 Jun ’26

What does freedom mean for women today? Qaqnas is a powerful, musical ode to that question. This new opera places voice, electronics and resistance at its center. Inspired by the slogan Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (woman, life, freedom) – that originated in the Kurdish women’s movement and gained global recognition after the protests in Iran – Qaqnas shows how fragile freedom truly is. 

Composer Huba de Graaff often writes experimental opera's and explores the boundary between speech and music in Qaqnas: what kind of music emerges when singing in a forbidden language? Naaz Mohammad, Naaz in short, is a Dutch-Kurdisch singer-songwriter who brings deeply personal lyrics, often layered with a lot of emotional depth. 

This performance takes place in a kitchen that doubles as an electronic music studio. Here, a fully female cast operates the equipment themselves. They sing in Kurdish – a language long forbidden, now sounding loud, proud, and unrestrained. The opera is based on a poem by Kurdish poet Tarza Jaff and tells the story of women who dare to leave, who take flight – and pay the price for it. 

Qaqnas fuses DIY kitchen electronics with opera, poetry with energy, intimacy with rebellion. A thrilling performance about strength, solidarity, and claiming space.  

Aftertalk: 

On Saturday, June 13, there will be an aftertalk with Huba de Graaff.
 

  • Duration: 75 mins.  
  • Language: Sorani 
  • Surtitles: English, Dutch
  • Podiumpas not valid for Holland Festival performances

Credits

vocals Naaz composition Huba de Graaff electronics Huba de Graaff music performed by Nora Mulder, Khabat Abas, Mei-Yi Lee direction Ria Marks lighting design Varja Klosse kostuums Leila el Alaoui

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Holland Festival 2026

During the 79th edition Holland Festival will present the latest in the field of international performing arts at different locations throughout Amsterdam, including Frascati
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