Anya17 is going west

The USA premiere of the  award-winning opera Anya17 has been confirmed for June next  year.

Anya17 will be performed in San Francisco by Opera Parallèle over June  July 2014, highlighting the very serious contemporary issue of humantTrafficking  on the West Coast.

California is a top destination for human trafficking in the  United States, and within California itself, the San Francisco Bay Area and Los  Angeles have the highest rates of human trafficking.

Anya17’s Composer Adam Gorb expressed his horror over the US  trafficking statistics, and said that “This is very exciting news. I’m  thrilled that this work which is dealing with a world-wide problem is now  reaching audiences around the globe.”

In addition to those trafficked into the USA from foreign  countries every year, an estimated 100,000 children in the States today are  victims of sex trafficking within US borders, with another 200,000 at risk. The  victims are primarily adolescent girls between the ages of 12 and 16. The  average age of entry for children deceived and coerced into the sex trade is a  mere 12 years. Approximately 80% of human trafficking victims are women and  girls and up to 50% are minors.

Anya17’s Librettist Ben Kaye added “Whilst these  statistics are truly appalling, numbers simply cannot convey the victims’  suffering; statistics don’t let us penetrate the thick fog and truly look into  their eyes. When their stories are told, we hope that legislators and members of  the public alike will be moved to act.”

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