Tod Machover’s Death and the Powers, which features robots as performers, premieres this month. Is this the future of opera? There's a great feature story from the M.I.T. news office today about Death and the Powers. The story provides an excellent overview of the opera and goes into some depth on Tod Machover's vision to …
Death and the Powers Synopsis (French)
Prologue Obscurité. Les robots roulent, oscillent, and glissent sur la scène en groupe puis se dispersent en différentes unités. Quatre robots émergent du pack et commencent à parler. Dans leur dialogue, les robots essaient de comprendre le sens du mot « mort , » un concept étrange auquel ils sont confrontés dans un drame qui …
Death and the Powers Synopsis (English)
Prologue Darkness. Robots roll, lurch, and glide onstage as a group and then disassemble into separate units. Four robots emerge from the pack and begin to speak. In their dialogue, each robot tries to understand the meaning of the word “death,” a strange concept they encounter in a drama left behind by their human creators. …
Meet the Artists – Alex McDowell (Production Designer)
Alex McDowell is one of the most innovative and influential designers working in narrative media, with the impact of his ideas extending far beyond his background in cinema. Alex advocates an immersive design process that acknowledges the key world-building role of design in storytelling. He currently serves as adjunct professor at the Interactive Media Department/School …
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“Touch Me” Aria
Here's a breathtaking video of Evvy's "Touch Me" aria from Scene 4 of Death and the Powers. Mezzo soprano Patricia Risley sings the role here during rehearsal at the Cutler Majestic Theater in Boston, MA, August 2010. She will perform the role of Evvy in the world premiere of Death and the Powers on September …
Meet the Artists – Joélle Harvey (Miranda)
Joélle Harvey shines in the demanding role of Miranda, the daughter of Simon Powers. Miranda is in her late teens, a young woman of intelligence and sensitivity, special and prescient. She is Antigone, Cordelia. Here she performs a duet with her stepmother Evvy, from Scene 1. Recorded during rehearsals at the Cutler Majestic Theater, Boston, …
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BBC News article – Is music going back to its roots?
Death and the Powers was recently featured in a BBC News article entitled Is music going back to its roots?, the last of a five-part series exploring the intersection of technology and culture. In the article, Tod Machover discusses the coalescence of modern music and technology, the challenges auto-tune has brought to the new generation of …
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Meet the Artists – Jim Maddalena (Simon Powers)
The role of Simon Powers is performed by the renowned baritone, James Maddalena. Simon is described as "a billionaire entrepreneur obsessed with his death. Mid-sixties. Mad, eccentric, charismatic, virile, successful. Has a devilish side to him, mischievous." Maddalena appears on stage in the first scene, at the end of which he vanishes into The System …
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Interview with Karole Armitage, Choreographer
A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to grab a few minutes of Karole's time during rehearsals and shoot this interview. When Karole Armitage isn't busy staging the characters in Death and the Powers, she serves as the artistic director for Armitage Gone! Dance, choreographing for numerous companies throughout Europe and America as well …
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Meet the Artists: Hal Cazalet (Nicholas)
Tenor Hal Cazalet will be performing in the role of Nicholas, Simon Powers' adopted son and protégé. Horribly injured as a child, Nicholas is rescued by Simon and rehabilitated as a half-human, half-machine. Nicholas builds The System. The role is demanding not only vocally but also in requiring an actor who can convey the cyborg …
Opera of the Future 