Music journalist Laurence Vittes reviews the CD recording of Death and the Powers in Gramophone, writing that “Now what had been an electrifying theatrical experience has been released as an electrifying surround-sound thriller.”
“As striking as the visuals must be, Machover’s arsenal of music stands triumphantly on its own, fusing and defusing technoflash from the composer’s MIT Media Lab with rich writing for Gil Rose’s Boston Modern Orchestra ensemble,” Vittes writes. “The sound is so immersive that it is not only a purer form of the opera, as the booklet notes point out, but provides a unique perspective when played back on surround sound headphones such as Apple’s AirPods Max.”
The recording is available on Apple Music.
Opera of the Future 