15 / 10 / 2021
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.”