Oedipus: sex with mum was blinding
ODC ensemble-Elli Papakonstantinou-Tilemahos Mousas. An immersive opera which mixes traditional performance with cutting-edge technology and emerging neuroscience, the production draws narrative inspiration from Sophocles' classic tragedy Oedipus Rex. A 2018-19 Fulbright Artist's Award recipient and visiting scholar at Stanford University; 2018-19 "Music Theatre Now" international award recipient, Elli Papakonstantinou creates her own visually striking, lyric adaptation and explores engaging audiences in a new radical way. By using new technologies which turn the audience into the actual chorus of the opera, the piece rediscovers the community at the heart of a political performance, as it was in the ancient times.
- Date:25/9/2019 09:00 PM - 29/9/2019 09:00 PM
- Location BAM Fisher 321 Ashland Place Brooklyn, NY 11217 (Map)
Description
Mythology, pop cultural references, and gender reexaminations feed into this unique theatrical mashup, as an all-female acting ensemble of opera singers and jazz vocalists join forces with musical virtuosos (live augmented cello, piano & new instruments) on stage for a deep-dive into a haunting mind game.
The all-female cast of "OEDIPUS: Sex with Mum Was Blinding" at BAM Fisher (Fishman Space) includes Nasia Gofa, Anastasia Katsinavaki, Theodora Loukas, Lito Messini and musicians Julia Kent (cello) and Misha Piatigorsky(piano). Additional casting TBA.
Electroacoustic environments are provided by Hassan Estakrian and Barbara Nerness.
Partly developed during the director's stay at the Center for Computer Research in Music & Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University, "OEDIPUS: Sex with Mum Was Blinding" also has artists and scientists joining forces on a new neuroscientific case study. The study explores the questions: "Are we free?," "Dο we experience free will?," Are there real alternatives, or is all that takes place the outcome of necessity?" An exploration into Determinism and Self, the answers describe either our majesty or captivity.
The advisor to the project is Professor Manos Tsakiris, Professor of Psychology, University of London (manostsakiris.com).
