Knot an Opera!
for three sopranos, baritone, pianist, electronics, and three-channel video
2016
Performed by kallisti
Kyle Adam Blair, pianist
Ashley Cutright, mezzo-soprano
Jonathan Nussman, baritone
Kirsten Wiest, soprano
Hillary Jean Young, soprano
Lighting design: Jessica Flores
Light board operator: David Espiritu
Technical director: Jason Ponce
Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Stanford University, CA
October 18, 2016
Supported in part by the Ben and A. Jess Shenson Fund at Stanford University. Additional support from Professor Jaroslaw Kapuscinski and Professor Susan Narucki.
SCORE
Dedicated to my favorite (and only) brother, Teodor.
OPERA? OPERA WHAT? WHAT IS THIS? IS THIS OPERA? This opera This work knots binds operatic practices with elements from old and new media—such as TV and YouTube—into a chain of preposterous ludicrous events episodes. Disparate pieces with of text—original or appropriated quoted—generate symbols characters and situations on the border between the mundane and the absurd. #PostOpera #KnowYourMeme #FunnyCats
Special thanks to Teodor Basica and Simona Fitcal for all their support in the making of this work.
00:13 - Prelude
02:14 - Interlude 1: A Vocal Warmup
03:55 - Sketch 1: Opera News
06:53 - Video 1: Bud Light
07:32 - Sketch 2: Soprano Light
11:40 - Interlude 2: A ViRal Experience
14:47 - Sketch 3: Table Manners
21:20 - Video 2: Cat Table Manners
22:50 - Sketch 4: These Potatoes
31:33 - Interlude 3: A Random Word Generator
35:07 - Sketch 5: Chatbots
40:00 - Video 3: Posthuman
41:10 - Sketch 6: Meema
45:00 - Interlude 4: An Acceptance Speech
46:35 - Sketch 7: Opera Band
50:40 - Postlude
Text, music, audio-video, and stage direction (mostly) by Constantin Basica, with the following exceptions:
Sketch 4: These Potatoes
Text co-written with Teodor Basica
Lyrics by Teodor Basica
Sketch 5: Chatbots
Lyrics by Teodor Basica (translated from Romanian with Google Translate)
Postlude
Text enhanced by Jonathan Nussman
In addition, pieces of text, video, and/or audio have been extracted and manipulated from the following sources:
Sketch 1: Opera News
Text: Fryer, Paul (ed.). The Business of Opera: Opera, Advertising and the Return to Popular Culture. In Opera in the Media Age: Essays on Art, Technology and Popular Culture. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. 2014
Video 1: Bud Light
Video: Bud Light Opera Commercial
Sketch 2: Soprano Light
Videos: Laura Bretan: 13-Year-Old Opera Singer Gets the Golden Buzzer - America's Got Talent 2016 Auditions
Laura Bretan '13-Year-Old' Opera Singer Gets Golden Buzzer America's Got Talent 2016 - MJ's Reaction
Laura Bretan 13 Year Old Opera Singer Gets Golden Buzzer America's Got Talent REACTION
Laura Bretan: 13-Year-Old Opera Singer Gets the Golden Buzzer | REACTION
Laura Bretan Delivers Stunning Cover of "The Prayer" AGT QUARTER FINALS REACTION!!!
Laura Bretan '13-Year-Old' Opera Singer Gets Golden Buzzer America's Got Talent 2016 - Reaction
Laura Bretan: 13-Year-Old Opera Singer Gets the Golden Buzzer - America's Got Talent 2016 Reaction
Reacting to Laura Bretan amazing so talented
Interlude 2: A ViRal Experience
Text: Yosemitebear Mountain Double Rainbow 1-8-10
Sketch 3: Table Manners
Audio: Dinner Party
Video 2: Cat Table Manners
Video: Cat Birthday Party - Cats Video
Interlude 3: A Random Word Generator
Lyrics: Random word generator JavaScript by James Padolsey