Here is question 3 from New Vilna Review Editor Daniel Levenson's recent interview with composer Tod Machover: NVR: It seems as though a large part of the work you do involves an educational element – what is it that inspires you to not only want to create this music, theater and art, but to put …
Q&A with Tod Machover – “What role does Jewish identity play in your work?”
Here is question 2 from New Vilna Review Editor Daniel Levenson's recent interview with composer Tod Machover: NVR: During the event at the NCAC, the moderator, Professor Lloyd Schwartz, asked a question about the role that Jewish identity plays in the work you do, and specifically whether it figured into the creation of this new opera. …
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Q & A with Tod Machover – “Do you feel a personal connection to the character of Simon Powers?”
New Vilna Review Editor Daniel Levenson's recent interview with composer Tod Machover asked wonderfully probing questions that elicited thoughtful, revealing replies. It's a long interview, and we thought readers would enjoy seeing them in a "Q&A of the day" format. Here is question 1: NVR: You recently participated in an event sponsored by the New …
Opera Conference 2011
Death and the Powers will be prominently featured at Opera America's 2011 Opera Conference. Scheduled for May 7-11 in Boston and hosted by the Boston Lyric Opera and Opera Boston, the conference sessions include talks by Death and the Powers composer Tod Machover and director Diane Paulus. The opening keynote will be delivered by Nicholas …
New Vilna Review Q&A with Tod Machover
Message from Tod: "I thought you might enjoy this new interview that just got posted. The editor of the New Vilna Review was at the event I participated in last month with Robert Pinsky and followed up with these questions. I enjoyed this opportunity to talk about my Jewish roots, something that I haven't really …
Performing Arts Technologies in Death and the Powers
David Staples' article in the German periodical Bühnentechnische Rundschau has now appeared in an English translation. Staples is Managing Director of Theatre Projects, Ltd. the world’s most prominent firm for designing performing arts centers. Staples writes: "Machover has created a number of operas incorporating new technologies, Valis premiered at the Pompidou Centre in Paris in …
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Andrew Porter reviews Death and the Powers
The distinguished music critic Andrew Porter has published his review in Opera Magazine of Death and the Powers, which he saw at its Monaco premiere last September. Porter has followed composer Tod Machover's work for decades and brings a wealth of knowledge about Tod's work and the history of opera generally to this review. In …
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Death and the Powers: The Robots’ Opera
Tod Machover's new opera Death and the Powers had its U.S. premiere in Boston and Chicago this spring, where it was warmly received by audiences and reviewers. Click on tabs above for a wealth of information about the background, personalities, music and media coverage ("buzz"). We would like to thank all who were involved for …
Press Quotes – Death and the Powers
"Machover is a remarkable composer. [His] technological inventions in giving to sounds, through electronics, new sonorities, new eloquence, have been widely and amply acclaimed. But I'd like to stress what a good opera composer he is, bringing the ‘traditional’, necessary skills to a far from traditional work. Machover has a command of expressive vocal gesture. …
New Scientist interviews Tod Machover
There's an excellent interview with Death and the Powers composer Tod Machover in the current (December 18, 2010) issue of New Scientist. In a conversation with journalist Ada Brunstein, Tod describes how he developed the concept for "disembodied performance technology" to bring the animatronic set of the opera to life. He explains how he applied …
Opera of the Future 