Opera and the Media of the Future

A Sussex/Glyndebourne Research Initiative

The Centre for Research in Opera and Music Theatre at the University of Sussex announces a new research project with Glyndebourne Opera, to be initiated by a two-day event which will be held at Glyndebourne on 24th & 25th October, 2014.

Opera and the Media of the Future will bring together academics and opera professionals to consider the impact of opera cinecasts upon the way that audiences engage with opera today, and to look ahead to see how new digital, web-based and mobile media platforms might shape the future forms of opera.

Commission

We are pleased to announce a very modest commission for a small web-based opera work (or prototype) to be ‘premiered’ at the conference in October. This piece will be hosted by the Sussex Reframe website http://reframe.sussex.ac.uk/ (or similar). It should be ready for testing by the 10th of October and will ‘go live’ on the 23rd.

Deadline for submission of proposals is 3rd July 2014. Results will be announced on July 17th. There will be an all-inclusive commission fee of £500.

The Brief:

This ‘opera’ will exist online. It will be encountered by its audience via a website. You may include mobile technology if you wish. The opera may be any duration (including very short, as in 2-3 minutes long, as this is only a very modest commission) or may not be time-based at all. It may have interactive elements. There will ideally be something to see, and something to hear. Preference will be given to the most innovative re-imaginations of the operatic form for this medium. Preference will be given to the most interesting idea, since, for this budget, we cannot expect a slick / polished finished product. You may wish to consider the following questions:

– What does opera ‘mean’ on this scale and through this medium?

– How can you engage your audience?

– What is your work’s relation to the ‘live’?

– In what sense is it ‘operatic’ – eg are there elements of traditional opera such as singing, plot, spectacle, scenography, etc? Have you significantly re-imagined these elements?

– Is there a sense (real or implied) that the opera is happening in a real place to which we are linked via the internet or is it taking place entirely in virtual space?

Please send via email, with subject heading ‘Web Opera Proposal’:

– Proposal (500 words)

– Description of your technical needs (max 500 words)

– CV and links to online work if appropriate.

To: Evelyn Ficarra e.j.ficarra – at – sussex.ac.uk