The Opera and the Media of the Future initiative was launched at a two-day event held at Glyndebourne on 24th and 25th October 2014.
The event was aimed at both academics and opera/media professionals. We welcomed participants from a full range of academic and professional backgrounds, including directors, scholars, administrators, researchers, practitioners, media artists, performers, composers and educators.
The event consisted of a mixture of empirical / theoretical presentations and case studies, with examples of artistic work with new media, including the presentation of two mini web operas commissioned specially for the event. The format included two keynote presentations, panel discussions, practical demonstrations and workshops.
The aims of the event were:
- To enable exchange between academics and the professional opera world concerning current research and thinking about the media of the future, and impact of new media on those working in the arts.
- To outline a research strategy for new media between university researchers and professional opera organisations.
Three central questions we are considering:
- What opportunities and challenges are presented to opera companies by new modes of performance broadcast, and new digital technologies and platforms?
- How will such modes of broadcast, and technologies and platforms, change the way we think about the concept of the operatic ‘audience’ and notions of ‘liveness’?
- How might new modes of broadcast, technologies and platforms, impact upon new forms of opera for the digital age?
Presenters/Contributors included:
- Martin Barker (Emeritus Professor of Film and Television Studies, University of Aberystwyth)
- David Berry (Reader in Media, University of Sussex) [Twitter]
- Tony Followell (Head of Media, Royal Opera House)
- John Fulljames (Associate Director, Royal Opera House)
- John Holmes (Head of Marketing, English Touring Opera)
- Tim Hopkins (Opera Director; Research Fellow, Centre for Research in Opera and Music Theatre) [website]
- Vicky Kington (Media Manager, Glyndebourne Opera)
- Mary Agnes Krell (Lecturer in Media and Film Studies, University of Sussex)
- Lucy Lowe (Head of Education, Glyndebourne Opera)
- Chris Morris (Professor of Music, National University of Ireland) [website]
- Sally Jane Norman (Professor of Performance Technologies, University of Sussex) [website]
- Jaakko Nousiainen (Director) [website]
- David Pickard (General Director, Glyndebourne Opera)
- Martin Rieser (Professor of Digital Creativity, De Montfort University) [website]
- Aine Sheile (Lecturer in Music, University of York) [website]
- Robert Thomas (Independent media composer) [website]
- Nick Till (Professor of Opera and Music Theatre, University of Sussex) [website]
- Craig Vear (Reader in Performing Arts, De Montfort University)