A "jam opera" mixing jazz, prog rock, and new classical. Quick tempos and long vocal lines sung by Lacy's wife, Irene Aebi, in her husky alto voice. Lacy uses the 7-piece band -- which includes harpsichord and accordion! -- to its fullest in a richly chaotic mix of rhythms and dissonance.

More important: The words being sung are a political commentary on the state of women in Bangladesh. Texts by Taslima Nasria, who received Islamic death threats much like Salman Rushdie did. Liner notes tell how she originally had a role in this opera.

DISK 1:
1- Short intro: Poetry over military snare
2- Chaotic and angry
3- Loping theme
4- Showcase for bass
5- Stomping, swirling beat
6- Harpsichord showcase
7- Jazzy; appropriately aggressive

DISK 2:
8- In French. Sparse, including a solo sax turn by Lacy
9* - Nice concrete theme, almost prog-rock
10- Complex and supposedly in "4/7" time
11- Burbly sax
12* - Powerful and brutal poetry, dissonant music. Describes the extreme brutality that's permitted against women, all in the name of making a wife love her husband, possibly ending with "suicide in a fit of ecstacy" -- which I think is a backhanded ironic reference to the loving "ecstacy" that this treatment is supposed to instill in a woman.
13- Taken from an ancient text, describes the sad effects of aging.