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“There is no one men hate more,
than a woman who does not fear them.”

In the song cycle They Have Waited Long Enough, the Ragazze Quartet, Katharine Dain (soprano) and a rotating solo instrument retell the stories of historical and mythological women.

The project emerged from a collaboration between Katharine Dain, the Ragazze Quartet and the Wonderfeel Festival, and has so far comprised three editions. For each edition, three female composers wrote a piece for soprano, string quartet and a solo instrument, inspired by a woman from mythology or history. All the song lyrics were also written by women. They give a voice to all these women who are now – at last – able to tell their stories.

Between 2021 and 2025, three song cycles were released (see below). In September 2026, the Ragazze Quartet, in collaboration with Katharine Dain, various soloists and Wonderfeel, will release a selection of songs from these three editions on CD via Channel Classics. The album will be presented at the September Me festival.

View performance dates

They Have Waited Long Enough I – Circe, Medea and Penelope

The first cycle tells the stories of Circe, Penelope and Medea, women who all feature in Homer’s Odyssey. In new compositions by Aftab Darvishi, Calliope Tsoupaki and Annelies van Parys, set to texts by Gaea Schoeters, the stories of each of these mythological women are told from a different perspective, transforming them from hysterical, passive or murderous women into more nuanced characters. 

On the right is a live recording of Medea for soprano, string quartet and clarinet by Annelies van Parys (composition) and Gaea Schoeters (text). Recorded at November Music 2022.

They Have Waited Long Enough II – Kassia, Suat Derviş and Şahmaran

The second cycle gives voice to heroines of the Aegean Sea: the mythical Şahmaran, half-serpent, half-human and a symbol of feminine (and non-binary) power, Kassia, born around 805 in Constantinople and the only female composer in Byzantine church music, and Suat Derviş, the 20th-century Turkish writer and left-wing activist who always remained unapologetically true to herself. Composers Meriç Artaç, Aida Shirazi and Kate Moore have put the texts of the Turkish writer Ece Temelkuran to music for soprano, string quartet and a solo instrument of one’s choice.

The video on the left shows the premiere of Şahmaran for soprano, string quartet, duduk and kaval, composed by Meriç Artaç with text by Ece Temelkuran. Recorded at the Istanbul Music Festival 2024. ​

They Have Waited Long Enough III – Mother Shipton, Hecate and Maria San Juan de Garonda

The third song cycle is dedicated to three women who were denounced or persecuted as witches: the Basque midwife Maria San Juan de Garonda, the mythological goddess of magic and witchcraft Hecate, and the legendary 16th-century English prophetess Mother Shipton. Composers Saskia Venegas, Amarante Nat and the duo Diamanda Dramm / Katharine Dain have added three new songs to the cycle, with lyrics by Natalie Haynes.

The video on the right features an interview with Tamar Brüggemann, founder of Wonderfeel, and Saskia Venegas, composer of Sortzain, discussing Maria San Juan de Garonda, accompanied by live recordings of Sortzain. Recorded at Wonderfeel 2025. ​

Performance dates

Location
Monday

5 Oct

They Have Waited Long Enough

Got Tjark, Schiermonnikoog
Tuesday

8 Dec

They Have Waited Long Enough

Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlijn

They Have Waited Long Enough I

They Have Waited Long Enough II

They Have Waited Long Enough III

Reviews

Volkskrant

Equally memorable is the Dutch premiere of They Have Waited Long Enough, three cantatas for voice and string quartet about women from ancient Greece. The title is a quote from English writer and comedian Natalie Haynes, who retells myths from the female point of view.