Post-Opera was an exhibition project at the intersection of visual arts, technology and opera. The theme was the changing relationship between the human body and the voice. Guest curator Kris Dittel and musicologist Jelena Novak initiated a collaboration between TENT, V2_Lab for the unstable media and Operadagen Rotterdam for this project.
Post-Opera addressed current questions about the human voice. The voice plays a central role in how we think about humans as social and psychological beings. The voice also forms the core of how we define people as citizens: with the right to vote, you get a voice in society. Yet not everyone is given the right to vote. Apparently, not everyone is recognized as a 'human being' in the same way. This raises the question: What kind of voices can assert themselves within our society? And how can other voices be heard?
The way we look at voices, bodies and identities is also changing due to technological developments. We are now surrounded by technology and digital voices. This raises new questions: What impact do such disembodied voices have on our understanding of what a voice entails? What reality do we attribute to such voices?
Insights from the opera
Post-Opera was inspired by contemporary post-dramatic operas. There is hardly any other genre in which the voice is as essential as in opera. Yet for a long time there was little attention for the body that produces that singing voice. In post-dramatic operas, the relationship between voice and body becomes a theme. With the use of technology, voices are distorted, virtual voices are added, or the self-evident connection between the body and the voice of a singer is broken. In this way, not only the boundaries of voice and body are stretched, but also those of the opera genre itself.
Post-Opera presented a mix of visual artists and composers, installations and live performances, vocalists who push the boundaries of the human voice and machines that can sing.
Participating artists and composers
Martin Riches presented his Singing Machine. Composer Tom Johnson wrote an aria for this singing machine.
Composer Jasna Veličković with her instrument 'the Velicon' she brought to life voices that are normally not audible to the human ear. By manipulating electromagnetic fields she gave a voice to adapters and other electronic objects in her 'Opera of Things'.
franck leibovici presented a 'love song' of breath, silence and whispers, as an exercise for lovers to communicate without words.
Adam Basanta's interactive sculpture transported the audience into a classic romantic moment from cinema and opera.
Mercedes Azpilicueta en John Bingham-Hall went on a research in the urban environment of Rotterdam. In collaboration with professional and non-professional singers, they made tangible the influence of architecture on the possibility to make your voice heard in public.
Paul Elliman stretched the boundaries of the human voice with his 'Sirens'. He had vocalists imitate the shrill sounds of various sirens, and resonate in their voices the authority and menace that emanate from them.
Janneke van der Putten challenged the capabilities of her own singing body with her acoustic performance.
Katarina Zdjelar imagined in a new film how different voices can find each other and give each other space. During an improvisation session with three musicians, an interpretation of the poignant text 'Europe, Where Have You Misplaced Love?' by poet Athena Farrokhzad emerged.
Issues of nationality, assimilation and exclusion were also central to the performance of Urok Shirhan.
In her vocal performance 'BirdBecomeBird' Suzanne Walsh human-sounding vocals and songs seamlessly transition into those of animals.
In a spectacular installation of Ho Tzu Nyen's a not-quite-human choir – made up of cyborgs, mythological creatures, figures from popular culture – raised their voices to claim their humanity.
And in a closing workshop, participants were able to participate under the guidance of Geo Wyeth to test the layering of the human voice.
Post-Opera at V2_
As part of Post-Opera, V2_ showed a new installation of Jan Adriaans. His 'Swarming Chants' was inspired by football songs. Adriaans compares the forces that are released during the collective experience in an Opera House with the collective voice that is created in the football stadium.
Rotterdam Symposium Opera Days
Featuring a cross-disciplinary mix of speakers, the symposium 'Installing the Voice' sheds light on new relationships between the body and the voice in contemporary opera and visual arts. This event was part of the program of Operadagen Rotterdam.
An exhibition booklet with more information about all works and performances can be found .
For the full program of pperformances & events click here.
With thanks to the Mondriaan Fund, Stokroos Foundation, CBK Rotterdam, Performing Arts Fund NL, V2_, Operadagen Rotterdam, CESEM – Centre for the Study of the Sociology and Aesthetics of Music, NOVA FCSH – NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Culture Ireland and FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology.