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WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
SAN DIEGO OPERA: OPERA HACK 3.0
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The winning proposals of Opera Hack 3.0 have been announced!
Opera Hack is the first-of-its-kind gathering of artists, designers, and technology experts from around the world dedicated to the advancement of the art form of opera. Teams of artists, engineers, technologists, programmers, and technicians will gather here to collaborate and compete with proposals to meet challenges in the opera industry. The third Opera Hack brought participants from across the USA, and places as far-flung as Australia, England, Italy, Canada, Scotland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and beyond. Opera Hack panelists and participants are leaders in their fields, navigating new frontiers of interdisciplinary art and technology. This year’s Opera Hack is made possible by an Opera America Innovation Grant, supported by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation.
The winners of this year’s Opera Hack 3.0 are:
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Baroque Reality: Accessible Augmented Reality Stagecraft, a proposal by Esha Datta, Lindsey Blackhurst, Sarah Hutchings, and Mitchell Hutchings.
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The BR Team has constructed an abridged version of the opera Alcina by George Friderich Händel that will focus on the opera's primary narrative, allowing technology to integrate with and enhance the storytelling.
Throughout this production, we will re-examine Alcina from a more nuanced, female-centric perspective. AR/MR will help the narrative take a deep dive into why these women might be on the island, who they are, and the external forces that affect them.
The technology woven throughout the performance serves two purposes: 1. allowing the audience to see a virtual set with characters’ backstories and additional story information presented visually; 2. using real-time tracking performers as avatars and body tracking technology, audiences will view the story from various characters’ perspectives through devices. Weaving technology such as portable devices (tablets and phones) and UnReal Engine (a gaming platform) into Alcina allows us to explore an alternative narrative perspective throughout Händel’s opera.
Creative Team:
Esha Datta, singer/software developer/technical lead for Baroque Reality
Dr. Lindsey Blackhurst, singer/educator/creative concepts
Dr. Mitchell Hutchings, singer/Assistant Professor of Voice - Florida Atlantic University/workshop facilitator @mhvoicestudio
Dr. Sarah Hutchings, composer/stage director, @composersarah
Metropolis 3.0, a proposal by Luciana Perc, Jacqueline Goldfinger, Eddie DeHais, Ian Garrett, Yelena Babinska, Alejandra Martinez, and Megan Cooper.
METROPOLIS 3.0 is an innovative new opera that reignites the revolutionary story at the heart of Fritz Lang’s 1927 classic film Metropolis, colliding the cutting edge technology of 2022 with the visceral immediacy of live performance for a modern audience. With the emergence of digital intelligence and the physical mechanization of labor previously done by humans, our world is experiencing far-reaching and ever-escalating crises that mirror those in Metropolis. The story shines a light on our present reality, on existing systemic structures that fuel climate change, exacerbate global inequities, and strip the most vulnerable among us of autonomy. Metropolis pioneered a vital transitional moment in humanity’s relationship to technology both through its message and medium. Now, a century later our team will explore the frontiers of how modern-day technologies such as motion capture, augmented reality, production mapping, motion tracking, and live video can bring Metropolis to a 21st century audience.
Creative Team:
Composed by Luciana Perc @lucianaperc.music
Libretto by Jackie Goldfinger @jacquelinegoldfinger
Development and direction by Eddie DeHais @planet_eddie
Technical Development by Ian Garrett TW: @toasterdog, @mrtoasterlab; IG: @igarrett, @mrtoasterlab, GB: /ian.garrett , /toasterlab
Design by Yelena Babinskaya @y.babinskaya - IG/Twitter and Facebook
Dramaturgical Support by Megan Brewer Instagram: @megthesalonniere
Singing expertise of Alejandra Martinez @alejlujah
PO(pera)V, a proposal by Nam Nguyen.
"Opera conveys more than musical notes and songs, but an emotional narrative meant to be experienced, with as much of one's self as possible. There are physical limitations to that experience: what seat you are in. There are economic reasons: what seat can you afford? There are social reasons: you never grew up with opera, why bother sitting through it? Utilizing the technology of 360-degree cameras, the proposed PO(pera)V concept embeds the audience at different levels of immersion based on their own interests and curiosity in a complete, virtually captured, performance – pushing aside those limitations.
Three levels of navigable immersion place the audience member right where they want to be to experience an opera performance. They can observe the show, as intended, from the theater seats. Through cameras mounted and hidden in the set, they can catch closer glimpses at the production, design, and the performers. With custom helmet rigs mounting cameras, recording from a performer’s point of view, an audience member can place themselves in the costume of a main character – and be the star of the show. Giving agency to an audience member over their virtual experience, the opera becomes an individualized, and memorable, adventure."
Creator: Nam Nguyen, Mechanical Engineer
Each team will receive a $5,000 start up grant to advance the proposal towards realization.
There will be a fourth Opera Hack coming soon. Please follow @sdopera and go to www.operahack.org and www.sdopera.org to stay up to date on all things San Diego Opera and Opera Hack.
SAN DIEGO OPERA: OPERA HACK 3.0
May - August 2022
$15,000 total in prizes
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Opera Hack is a first-of-its-kind gathering of artists, designers, and technology experts from around the world dedicated to the advancement of the art form of opera. Teams of artists and technicians will collaborate and compete with proposals to meet challenges in the opera industry. Participants will have the opportunity to network with creators from different cities internationally to create multidisciplinary teams and bring forward innovative ideas that can advance the production and presentation of opera.
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Timeline:
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May - Opera Hack Launch: Join us to officially launch Opera Hack where we will officially reveal this year's challenges.
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May-June - Over the course of several weeks, we will feature presentations from leading artists in the field. These will be combined with social events designed to help Opera Hack participants get to know each other and start collaborating.
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July - Proposals Due.
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July - All proposals will be featured in short presentations to all of the Opera Hack participants and advisory panel.
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July - Winning Proposals selected.
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August - Public presentation of winning proposals.
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Participation is open to the public and all participants will be invited to presentations by our expert Advisory Panel and special guests to learn more about how technologists and artists are working together to transform opera.
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We especially encourage applications from members of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) communities, womxn, persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and others who can contribute to the further diversification of ideas in music theater.
OPERA HACK is made possible by an OPERA America Innovation Grant,
supported by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation.