THE SILVER CYPRESS
In a hostile desert world, small settlements of people, who have lost both their cultural memory and ability to cry, drill the bone-dry earth for the last vestiges of water. Yatim, a 16-year-old orphan, grows curious about the world outside when a military deserter is captured, haunted by what he saw and experienced. Yatim's best friend and adopted brother, 14-year-old Pesar, is sent to seek water at the distant Silver Cypress, a mythic tree that once held the memory of their people and granted rain to their land; he is ambushed along the way. Distraught by Pesar's disappearance, Yatim's ability to cry is reawakened. Simin—an elderly woman who sings in Farsi, a language forgotten by the rest of society—captures Yatim's tears in a vessel and sends her to find Pesar and use her tears to restore the Silver Cypress.
Yatim embarks on a harrowing journey across the desert, braving the lawless cruelty of the land and those who rove across it. Meanwhile, Pesar, who survived the skirmish, falls into an ancient waterway and meets Mirab, the elderly keeper of underground water tunnels, who is on the brink of death. After imparting knowledge of the old ways, Mirab dies. Pesar is unable to cry; he has no choice but to keep going.
About to die of thirst, Yatim disobeys Simin's edict and drinks the tears. Aban, the sole survivor of a genocide that exacerbated the drought, discovers Yatim. Aban despairs that, without the offering of tears, the Silver Cypress can never recover. As rogue forces approach, Aban laments a baby she saved and lost to violence 16 years ago. Yatim realizes that she was that baby; Yatim and Aban grieve everything they have lost. Just then, Pesar emerges from the waterway. The friends reunite; their joy evokes tears, summoning the goddess Aredvi. The deity reveals that, having lost her power long ago, she has wandered the desert disguised as Simin. As tears fall, a gentle rain soaks the thirsty land.
These photos are references for the visual and narrative tone, and mood of the libretto.
CREATIVE TEAM
COMPOSER — NILOUFAR NOURBAKHSH
LIBERTTIST — STEPHANIE FLEISCHMANN
CREATIVE TEAM
NILOUFAR NOURBAKHSH
COMPOSER
STEPHANIE FLEISCHMANN
LIBRETTIST
