Sharing The Light – Bach’s Daughter

Bach’s Daughter, an opera by Andrea Densmore

“Always behind closed doors!” is the most sustaining factor in the prevalence of domestic violence, and is a line from a featured piece entitled, Motherhood in Peril.

Domestic violence is a secret that impacts us all.  It occurs right in our neighborhoods involving violence that in most cases targets women and children, the ones with the least power in an intimate, familial relationship.

Unlike so many victims in domestic violence cases, the girl in Bach’s Daughter survives a tragic saga and lives to fulfill her birthright to emerge as a woman composer. This is a modern-day tale told through mostly instrumental music that infuses genres spanning hundreds of years, from the baroque to the contemporary.

“Why didn’t you leave? You could have run away while he was asleep.” This line from the song mentioned above, which is currently the only section with vocals in this opera-in-progress, is a common ‘blame the victim’ rant.

Enter the Center for Domestic Peace leading the way for a comprehensive community effort to end domestic violence in Marin County, and doing a damn good job of it: the number of reported incidents in our County is trending down for the first time.

Composing this music helps to see the light of forgiveness. C4DP teaches classes for the abused and the abusers, who themselves might have witnessed or been abused as children. Together, composer and heroic organization will Share The Light at the Dance Palace. Please join us for this inspiring, unique event– admission is free.

~Andrea Densmore

Featuring current members of:
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Ballet
New Century Chamber Orchestra
California Symphony
Marin Symphony
Santa Rosa Symphony

Singers and dancers from:
Marin, SF, East Bay, Sonoma

Fiscal sponsorship and support by Bolinas Community Center, The West Marin Fund