RADIO OPERAS

Experiments in Opera commissioned a collection of six ‘Radio Operas’ that explore a wide range of stories highlighting the composers’ interests in Modern abstractionism, science fiction, melodrama, satire, hallucinatory experiences, scientific discoveries, and pop culture icons.

The six featured composers were Jason Cady & Ann Heppermann, John King, Jonathan Mitchell, Paul Pinto, Aaron Siegel, and Matthew Welch.

These are not nostalgic homages to the radio plays of yesteryear. EiO’s Radio Operas are daring new operatic works created by some of the premiere experimental composers of today and designed specifically with this format in mind. Rather than prioritizing stage design and visual storytelling, these opera vignettes feature sound effects performed live by a Foley artist, spoken text, music and singing and will rely on the imagination of the listener to create the image of the stories.

This inversion of standard operatic presentation was made complete when the six featured works were recorded at the studios of Q2 Music for world premiere webcasts and on-demand streaming.