Props on Stage

Using Haptic and Kinetic Control Devices to
Empower the Opera Singer

Dr Eve Klein

Opera singers are sometimes referred to as “props on stage” because a team of experts such as composers, conductors, directors, language coaches, voice teachers, choreographers and designers sculpt their performances. The singer can rank fairly low in this hierarchy, and their location can serve to entrench traditional modes of operatic authorship which privilege the conductor and director’s vision of the composer’s work above all else. This paper presents a rationale for integrating haptic and kinetic control devices in the form of props and sculptural set pieces into the staging of live opera performances of The Pomegranate Cycle (2010), Seeds (2013) and Triptych (2014). These operas investigate the potential of self-directed, technologically mediated composition as a means of politicising and reconfiguring gender tropes within the operatic tradition.

Thursday 25 September 4.10pm

Arts Lecture Theatre 3, Arts Building E11

Refreshments to follow until 6pm, LG1

Everyone welcome