Photo: Bare Opera and Culture Hub NYC
By Briana E. Hunter
(New York, NY) - We are now months into the quarantine, and the realities of the global pandemic have created a new normal. The hustle and bustle of daily life has come to a crashing halt. Restaurants have closed table-service, clothing stores have locked their doors, and businesses have sent their employees home.
Like so many other institutions, opera companies around the world shuttered their doors amid the threat of a global pandemic. Performances were cancelled and artists sent home. With voices trained to reach the balconies of grand opera houses, these artists must settle for a more modest venue. For some, their (miniscule) apartments are their new stage. For others, it is a childhood bedroom. Their new audience? The vacuums left leaning against walls and the opera scores they’ve accumulated over the years.
To be clear, we are the lucky ones, the ones who can afford to remain in isolation. And yet, despite our privileges, this new normal is maddening for artists who gain energy through communal experiences. All have mourned missed openings or debuts. Many now sing into tiny cameras on phones and tablets, seeking connection. And while social media and virtual connectivity provide a temporary salve, we still long for a return to the stage. We miss being immersed in the delicious, resonant experience of musical collaboration.
Bare Opera is no exception to this upheaval. In a co-production with Culture Hub NYC, Bare was set to produce “The Presence of Odradek” just as the COVID-19 crisis shook New York City to its core in March. When it became apparent that an in-person show would no longer be possible, the team worked quickly to reimagine Odradek for a virtual medium. By incorporating virtual reality (VR) technologies, the show promises an immersive experience in your living room.
Overall, our approach gestures to a potential solution for opera in the time of Coronavirus. To better understand our redirect to virtual performances, I chatted with Odradek’s creative team about their approach and how they managed to successfully innovate and pivot toward an online platform.
I began with Director, Singer, and Creator Malena Dayen, and composer David Rosenmeyer (who also happens to be her husband).
B: When did you find out the live performances wouldn’t be possible for this show, and at what stage were you in the process?
M: In March, we were in the middle of workshops when we realized that we had to change our plans. We decided to explore the possibilities of live streaming, trying to stay as live and creative as we could.
B: What were the biggest challenges you faced in converting your original production to a VR online live experience?
M: When we started working on the live streaming idea, we decided not to try to replace the theatre experience, but to play and have fun with the new rules. Most of the ideas we were working on originally adapted and evolved in the VR performance, others we had to give up. The issues with the sound, mixing live performances from different locations, at times combined with pre-recorded video, was challenging from a technical point of view.
D: It was definitely a challenge (musically) and in certain parts I had to accompany a singer without actually hearing/listening to him, but having their video stream on a monitor so I could calculate the moments to be together based on the movement of his lips.
M: [She laughs]…we tried different creative ways, and we’re still trying to make it better in the upcoming performances. Overall I thought the VR online live experience was exciting and I can’t wait to keep working in this medium, even after we are allowed back into the theatre!
B: I couldn’t agree more. The VR experience was unreal! Malena, can you tell us a little bit about how you met Sangmin (Video/Tech designer)?
M: When I started directing (I started as an opera singer), I enrolled in an MFA at CUNY Brooklyn College to study Performance and Interactive Media Arts. That’s where I met Sangmin Chae, [he] was my classmate.
B: That’s right, this is not the first time you and Sangmin, and even Troy (choreographer) have worked together.
M: Yes, [Sangmin and I] collaborated on several projects together, including my three (past) productions with Bare Opera: Piazzolla’s “Maria de Buenos Aires,” “Don Giovanni,” and now “Exercises on the Presence of Odradek.” Troy Ogilvie also collaborated in all three [above] productions. She’s an amazing choreographer who creates very poetic and specific languages for each production. Both Sangmin and Troy, as well as my husband, composer David Rosenmeyer, have been involved from the beginning in this project.
B: We absolutely love working with you all and are so happy you have continued to produce work with us. How did you come up with the concept for this show…what’s it about?
M:“The Presence of Odradek” is based on Franz Kafka’s “The Cares of a Family man.” It plays with Kafka’s text as well as poems by Avot Yeshurun, exploring how art is able to give presence to absence.
D: As for the music, Malena and I would have long conversations about the piece. Our vision for the stage (which later became the video screen), the topics that interested us, and the techniques we wanted to explore, like making a collage with improvisations. Then I’d just let it marinate inside me until a deadline forced it to become something to share...
B: Well, I think we are all experiencing the very large presence of absence all over the world. What do you want the audience to take away from the experience?
M: There’s really no wrong way to experience this piece. I hope our audiences join us with curiosity and sensibility. I hope they enjoy the agency they have to explore VR and the chat functions, as they wish. I hope they find this piece both mysterious and revealing at the same time.
Screen capture from “Exercises on The Presence of Odradek” | Photo: Bare Opera and Culture Hub NYC
Inspired by Malena and David, I knew I needed to talk to Sangmin Chae (the magician behind the video/tech engineering) and find out more about his VR world.
B: Could you talk a bit about the technology behind Odradek? How do we get these incredible effects and visuals?
S: Our plan was to use a variety of holographic techniques for the performances, but we had to make a lot of technical changes due to the COVID-19 situation. So, we chose VR technology. We received a lot of help from Culturehub. I’m currently working there as a Creative Technologist where I develop, test, and implement various technologies for artists. In particular, we are studying VR, AR, and Telepresence, and in this performance, we applied various VR technologies and cylinder hologram technologies to the performance.
B: For those of us who are less tech literate, what does that all mean?
S: VR refers to experiencing a virtual world through VR devices that block the real world. Because 360-degree virtual reality unfolds, it is called VR to experience a perfect virtual space that is far from reality! On the contrary, AR is a technology that overlaps three-dimensional virtual interest based on the real world, such as the background environment, based on the location information system based on gyroscope information. What we have in common is that we both have to create a virtual world. Telepresence technology is a technology that remotely brings people from afar and makes them look like they're in the same space. It is mainly used for video conferencing, and I incorporated it into the performance.
B: Thank you Sangmin, this is fascinating. I can’t wait to see what you come up with in the future!
S: Thank you, Briana!
Screen capture from “Exercises on The Presence of Odradek” | Photo: Bare Opera and Culture Hub NYC
Lastly, I caught up with choreographer Troy Ogilvie.
B: What are the differences in designing movement/choreography for the physical space versus the VR world?
T: I enjoy the intimacy and controlled agency of VR. I find that there’s a delicious intimacy in dance that more easily translates into film than onstage, simply because proscenium productions typically require more distance. Even if we are able to curate that kind of intimacy - the sound of fabric, a finger tracing an elbow - in maybe a more immersive setting, there is still a lot of room for distraction while on film you get to be really clear about what is paid attention to. What we gain in intimacy and control, we lose by severing that electric, irreplaceable synergy between performers and audience that exists when everyone shares the same physical space.
B: This is not your first time working with Sangmin and Malena, what makes your collaborations so special and unique? Describe your process of working together.
T: Malena always brings these incredibly inspiring ideas and references to our first meetings about a project. I can't help but get excited about the material and her thoughts. She then gives me such trust and freedom that I really feel like I do my best work when collaborating with her. I have worked less directly with Sangmin, but as far as I'm concerned he's a magician and I'm always blown away by what he creates.
B: How would you describe your artistic voice?
T: Ha! Good question. My answer will probably be a bit sideways. I’m interested in movement that is untranslatable - that is itself and neither a metaphor nor pantomime (which is its own art form!). I search for movement that is direct. The same way that effective poetry cuts through prose's syntactical red tape, I hope that my choreography - which is always in collaboration with the performer - cuts through affectations of style and this idea of “dance for dance's sake.” I also love a show! It's always fun to find the most resonant tension between abstraction and entertainment so that you can both charm and challenge your audience.
My sincere thanks to Malena, David, Sangmin, and Troy for their time and unique insights!
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“Exercises on The Presence of Odradek”
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Briana Elyse Hunter is Bare Opera’s Marketing and Communications Director.
A mezzo soprano “of astounding vocal and dramatic range,” Briana is represented by Aaron Grant at L2 Artists.