Faculty Research Fellows Lunch with Heather Hadlock

Heather Hadlock: “Three Wise Women would have asked directions….”

NOTE: This event begins at 11:45am with a musical performance.

It’s a familiar feminist joke that Three Wise Women would have arrived on time, brought a casserole, delivered the baby, and cleaned up the stable. This December, Stanford performers will present a contemporary American opera, The Wise Women, that explores the deeper mystical potential of reversing the genders in the Christmas tale of three Kings. Professor Hadlock will introduce The Wise Women’s story and music, and how it pushes back against patriarchal biases in both opera and Christian tradition. The opera’s music director and singers will perform excerpts.

Three of the “Wise Women” - the Maiden, Goodwife, and Crone - will sing at 11:45am. Each will sing a Lament from the scene in the opera where the Wise Men have left them behind. We’ll hear how the music and poetry depict these archetypal stages of the female life-cycle, and the wisdom and vulnerability associated with each stage.

Heather Hadlock is Associate Professor of Music.