Abstract / About the project

Human-computer interaction has become an essential part of our life. Simultaneously, the modern society is getting increasingly distanced from the nature. With this interdisciplinary research project, we intend to explore how to bring the nature closer to the urban people, as well as to raise awareness about the global problem of sea pollution by combining methodologies of arts, humanities, and computer sciences. An interactive opera will be composed: the listeners will be invited to participate to the creation of the musical work by sharing their memories about themes related to seas, lakes, and forests. Those memories will become part of the libretto, as well as the formation of the soundscape and the real-time narrative of the opera. A virtual space will be built in the concert hall, in which the participants can freely wander. On top of the soundscape of the physical environment, the audience members will hear the memories shared by other participants, music, and sound effects. The interactive electronic system will respond to the actions of the performers and listeners. Every performance of the work will be different because of the non-linear form of the composition and narrative: moreover, a non-linear interactive film will accompany the immersive operatic experience. We will extend the concept of opera and classical music expression by developing new performing techniques and solutions of musical dramaturgy with the means of virtual reality tools and algorithmic composition techniques.

The project is a direct continuation to the author ́s previous research project “Automatising Musical Expression in Real-Time Performance Settings: Procedural Music Systems as a Composition Technique”, focusing on procedural composition techniques and gamification as a musical form. This current research collaboration is hosted by the Mixed Reality Laboratory of the Nottingham University.