Hypermusic Prologue - a projective opera in seven planes
Beyond the frontiers of the universe
Hypermusic Prologue is first and foremost a story of a meeting between a young Spanish composer, Hèctor Parra, and an American physicist, Lisa Randall. He was fascinated by scientific research in cosmological models and quantum physics. She was a veritable opera buff. Then she told him about her desire to write a libretto about the new theories in astrophysics. And so it was that Hypermusic Prologue was spawned, a new type of opera bridging the worlds of art and science. Very soon, the English plastic artist Matthew Ritchie joined this strikingly original artistic project.
And, to be sure, this « projective opera » does indeed project us beyond the known frontiers of the universe. An exploration in the form of a dialogue between a man and a woman, two soloist voices both feeling the tension between the finite and infinite (Hyperspace), between the experience of the here and now and the temptation of new dimensions of being and time. For it is indeed the human aspect which imparts measure and meaning to the infinitely large. Hypermusic Prologue promises to be a musical voyage to the deepest parts of ourselves and our own « hidden dimensions ».
music Hèctor Parra | libretto Lisa Randall | design production Matthew Ritchie | soprano Charlotte Ellett | baritone James Bobby | conductor Clement Power | Ircam computer music designer Thomas Goepfer | staging Paul Desveaux | lights Laurent Schneegans | commission Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ircam-centre Pompidou, support Cultural department of Catalan government | production Ensemble Intercontemporain (Paris), Ircam-Centre Pompidou (Paris), support The Fondation d’entreprise Hermès
