SVADBA (WEDDING)

2026

SVADBA is a cappella opera inspired by women, ritual, and Balkan Folk Music followed by a Balkan Folk Dance Party with Balkan Brass Band Conical Cacophony (http://conicalcacophony.com/).

Hogfish.org produced the opera and describes it as “the Maine premiere of Ana Sokoloviç's opera SVADBA, the first opera by a woman presented on a professional company’s main stage in Maine. SVADBA means ‘wedding’ in English, and this Serbian, a cappella, tour-de-force show sparkles and captivates as it invites you into the private and ancient rituals between a bride and her friends the night before her wedding.

The night before a wedding is an important threshold in any person’s life. At a time in our collective culture that feels like a threshold of change for so many, the SVADBA experience begins with an immersive pre-show ritual inviting the audience to ask, “What are the important thresholds in my life right now? “What do I need to let go of in order to move on?” and “How can I receive support to do so?” There will be hands-on-healing, a sound bath, and other modalities. Directly sprouting from the audience ritual, our artists-in-residence join in a performance of the 55 minute a cappella opera SVADBA ("WEDDING") by Ana Sokoloviç.”