ABOUT
For Lyric Coloratura Soprano, Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, Bass-baritone, 2 Tenors, Flute, Violin, Viola, Upright Bass, Piano/Harmonium, and Drumkit/Tabla/Dhol
Thumbprint is inspired by the extraordinary transformation of Mukhtar Mai, a young woman whose world was shattered by an act of brutality that could have destroyed her. Instead, she discovers a weapon—her voice—and against all odds, to the astonishment of her country and herself, she seeks justice and finds it. “The worst thing in my life is also the best,” she says. “It has given my life meaning.”
LIBRETTO BY SUSAN YANKOWITZ. Thumbprint was inspired by the true story of Mukhtar Mai, a young illiterate peasant who was gang-raped as retribution for an alleged ‘honor’ crime by her little brother and who became the first woman in Pakistan to bring her rapists to justice. From someone who had not even known that her country had a constitution, she became a voice for the women ‘buried in shame/without a stone to mark their graves,’ and an international advocate for human rights.
Press
“Sankaram is a rousing composer who engagingly merges the jazzier aspects of Indian music with the punchier ones of Puccini-esque and Adams-esque opera and Broadway. She is also a rousing double threat, a compelling singer… You don’t leave the theater unimpressed or unmoved.”
–Mark Swed, The LA Times
“Sankaram’s greatest gift as a composer is her seemingly endless ability to birth beautiful, memorable melodic motives and weave them together dramatically."
– Catherine Womack, LA Weekly
Past Productions
PROTOTYPE Festival
LA Opera
Chautauqua Opera
Opera Ithaca
Portland Opera
Boston University
University of Arizona
