Opera as collage
Pioneering composer John Cage reassembles European opera tradition as a collage. Stage action and the music itself are directed by a digital Europeraclock in place of a conductor. You’ll still hear famous arias, layered in a whole new way in Cage’s entertaining collage. The return of live theater to the Gem for the first time in a decade!
Looking to bring a group of 10 or more? Contact Jeffery Sanders at groupsales@detroitopera.org to save today!
*DETROIT OPERA PREMIERE*
*Performed at Detroit’s Gem Theatre*
A 70-minute collage of opera arias
CONCEPT BY JOHN CAGE
INSTRUMENTATION
Europera 3: 6 Singers, 2 Pianos, 6 Gramophone Operators, lighting, Tape.
Europera 4: 2 Singers, Piano, Record Player, Lighting.
Europeras 3 & 4 are Cage’s “middle” operas, flanked by the grand Europeras 1 & 2 and the far more demure Europera 5. It shares elements from both, however, the result being a 70-minute collage of sounds that beautifully encapsulate the Western high art operatic tradition in a late-20th century form. Europera 3 & Europera 4 are themselves quite distinct from each other, with Europera 4 being far more intimate in scale and in density of materials. That said, Cage specified that the two works should always be performed together and in sequence, as combined they provide an interestingly contradictory and thus uniquely comprehensive presentation of operatic history.
Courtesy of John Cage Trust
*DETROIT OPERA PREMIERE*
*Performed at Detroit’s Gem Theatre*
A 70-minute collage of opera arias
CONCEPT BY JOHN CAGE
INSTRUMENTATION
Europera 3: 6 Singers, 2 Pianos, 6 Gramophone Operators, lighting, Tape.
Europera 4: 2 Singers, Piano, Record Player, Lighting.
