Digital Scenography in Opera in the Twenty-First Century

Caitlin Vincent researches the future of work in the arts. Key areas of focus include opera, cultural labour, performance and technology, and equity and diversity. An acclaimed opera librettist, Vincent has been commissioned for Washington National Opera, the Schubert Club of Minnesota, the University of Connecticut, and Carnegie Hall.

• Introduction Chapter One – Digitally-enhanced opera in the twenty-first century and the modes of synthesis Chapter Two – Digitally-enhanced opera in the twenty-first century and the variants of causal interplay Chapter Three – The lineage of digital scenography: Baroque origins to the twentieth century Chapter Four – The lineage of digital scenography: multimedia opera in the twentieth century Chapter Five – The projection designer and evolving creative hierarchies in opera Chapter Six – Digital scenography and evolving production design processes in opera Conclusion BibliographyIntroduction to digital scenography in operaWhat is digital scenography?Why opera?Research methodsThe modes of synthesisExamples of practiceInterviews Chapter outlineReferencesChapter One – A new classification system for digital scenography: the modes of synthesisArticulating the modes of synthesis: non-synthesis, partial-synthesis, and full- synthesisNon-synthesis—San Francisco Opera, The Magic Flute (2012)Partial-synthesis—Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, The Magic Flute (2005)Full-synthesis—Komische Oper Berlin, The Magic Flute (2012)A comparison of critical responses to the three productionsConclusionReferencesChapter Two – The variants of causal interplayAgency: the screen as ‘performer’Dutch National Opera, The Magic Flute (2012)—partial-synthesisVictorian Opera, Four Saints in Three Acts (2016)—partial-synthesisAugmentation: extension and transformation through digitalisationThe Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Don Giovanni (2014)—partial-synthesisVictorian Opera, The Flying Dutchman (2015)—partial-synthesisFull-synthesis extremes of agency and augmentationOpéra de Lyon, L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (2016)—full-synthesisAutonomy: faux-interactivity versus functional interactivityThe Metropolitan Opera, Das Rheingold (2010)—partial-synthesisImplications for performers and audiencesReferencesChapter Three – The lineage of digital scenography in opera: Baroque origins to the twentieth centuryThe origins of the Baroque opera paradigmThe Baroque paradigm and the interplay between performer, stage setting, and spectatorNew perspectives: the scenic reforms of Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena (1657–1743)The scenographic transition to ‘grand opera’The ‘mystic chasm’: Richard Wagner (1813–1883) and the Bayreuth FestspielhausAdolphe Appia (1862–1928) and dynamic lightLooking towards the twentieth centuryReferencesChapter Four – The lineage of digital scenography in opera: multimedia developments in the twentieth centuryAvant-garde originsEdward Gordon Craig (1872–1966) and Enrico Prampolini (1894–1956): ‘a thousand scenes in one’ and ‘luminous forms’Josef Svoboda (1920–2002) and the dynamic setting of the Laterna MagikaThe Tales of Hoffmann (1962)Günther Schneider-Siemssen (1926–2015) and the holograms of the Salzburg Marionette TheatreThe Tales of Hoffmann (1985)Looking towards the twenty-first centuryReferencesChapter Five – The projection designer and evolving creative hierarchiesIndustry recognition and acknowledgementThe traditional theatrical hierarchy: director as ultimate authorityThe lateral hierarchy: collective directorateHierarchical variation: projection designers as the directorial authorityThe evolving role of the projection designerReferencesChapter Six – Digital scenography and evolving production design processesA benchmark of organisational and funding modelsThe twentieth-century standard for production designWashington National Opera’s Das Rheingold (2016)—non-synthesisThéâtre Royal de la Monnaie’s The Magic Flute (2005)—partial-synthesisDutch National Opera’s The Magic Flute (2012)—partial-synthesisSanta Fe Opera’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (2017)—non-synthesisKomische Oper Berlin’s The Magic Flute (2012)—full-synthesisCommonalities across the five production design processesProduction design processes and the modes of synthesisReferencesConclusion – The future evolution of digital scenographyReferencesAppendix 1Appendix 2Appendix 3

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