Forecasting the Experience of Opera

Experience Design Group Projects

A strategic partnership between the New York City Opera,the Experience Design Group at Konstfack, R1 KTH Experimental Performance Space, the Operahögskolan, and the Stockholm School for Entrepreneurship.

The idea was to find the trends and the possible future situations for Opera, both the institution and the performative art.

My project was based on the idea that it's possible to create a bigger empathy towards Opera if there is an investment in empathy and understanding. This would have to be thought of by the composer and made into a coherent way with the opera's content. As an example we understood that the Opera doesn't have to start and end in a specific time but we tried to explore the boundaries of the Opera by bringing it into the metro in Stockholm. The operatic experience could start even many days before the actual performance, as a ritual of preparation for the climax. The audience would receive in their homes or work small hints and clues, like just a rhythm or a melody, of what would be about to happen. In a way the action would start before in people's minds. In the same way the experience could be extended after the performance.

Another trend we spotted was the space specific. So the idea is that by using new video-conference technologies you can have singer in their actual space, where ever they are in the world. This way a live singer could even make a duet with a singer in anther part of the world.

This project was made in group with Sarin Tasnathepgamol.