a meta-art project of a special kind.
The Magic Sea Opera: The basic idea for this special “opera project” came to me almost exactly 50 years ago. In the course of time, it came up again and again. And with the sensational production of Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung with “La Fura dels Baus” in Valencia in 2007, the idea got new impetus. [1]
Not everyone is a fan of Richard Wagner’s operas, but to make my concept easier to understand, feel free to imagine the Ring. What is essential, however, is Wagner’s epochal concept of the “Gesamtkunstwerk”. And here again his idea of not only composing themes for the actors but also e.g. the Rhine, Siegfried’s sword, or the ring, and using these themes to describe the action in the composition.
The word opera, as we use it today, comes from Latin opera and means “work”. Only in 1639 was it used in the sense of “composition” in which poetry, dance, and music are combined”.
The optical part initially played a minor role in operas. Over time, more attention was paid to costumes and stage design. Even the soprano repertoire was expanded to include a coloratura soprano (18th-19th ct.), but colors and visuals remained neglected. So at some point, I started thinking about how to overcome this deficiency.
the concept
Even if the idea that I would like to present today might sound unrealistic or at least utopian at first, I would by no means see it as unfeasible. Namely, the idea of an opera as a total work of art, in which the visual part is the actor, tells the story. A storyline that evolves dynamically and conceptually. Even more, it can be modulated and further developed by us. Sounds a bit confusing? For a better understanding I will sketch the core of the basic idea and the course of the opera with little text and only discuss the beginning and the end in more detail. (I have painted almost all of the presented pictures and drafts recently).
Where are we today?
AI [2] already answers the most complex questions, writes texts for us, composes pieces of music, draws pictures for us, and will certainly also write a libretto for us. At some point, AI will also be able to create something like a dynamic image layer for us, a vision in progress. As predicted, Mark Z.’s metaverse project failed, the underlying idea by no means. In order to be able to better imagine the project discussed today, for the sake of simplicity we put on mental metaverse glasses. [3]
What’s new in this project?
What we get today as answers from AI programs like ChatGPT & Co depends on the quality of our questions. We know that. Similarly, the visual part of our “opera magna” will also be designed according to our input. But, and this is special, the metadata and prompts should not be written. We feed the program with a series of images – in draft or detailed form – and in this way, together with the written data, supply everything that the program needs. The program then uses the data provided to create the finished opera. So it uses the provided data on music, action, or images and thus creates a dynamic visionary work.
This article is not about presenting a finished project, not even showing finished pictures – because there aren’t that many – but showing the development of an idea.
The philosophical part will not be discussed further. Of course, ideas from Zen and Dao [blog posts] were the inspiration. Of course, I would set up the project in a relatively abstract way and the sea would be the basic theme. In Genesis 3 we read: “For dust you are and to dust you will return.” Well, when we look into an urn, we see little dust. We are mainly made up of water. We come from the water (sea) and this gave birth to all life.
overture
When we attend an opera today, the hall is relatively dark at the beginning, with some light coming from the orchestra pit. At the beginning of our opera, it is also very dark, black. It is the nothingness that existed before chaos – in the classic philosophical sense – and which created everything. The scene slowly brightens, and becomes foreboding. What we see is an abstract scenario that reflects both the sea and space and can be both micro and macrocosm. It is formless and has form, is motionless and dynamic, etc. In short, it is very Daoistically conceived.
act 1
And so this magic sea opera also begins in the realm of chaos, from which the forms of being, objects, and scenes gradually develop. The diffuse light at the beginning gradually begins to form spaces and structures. The initially warm tones slowly become colder.
The protagonists of this opera are themes (in Wagner’s sense), e.g. the abstract and the concrete, the white as the light a.s.o. Initially, the light would primarily define space or just places and objects. What is initially reminiscent of an opera stage (detail 1) gradually expands (detail 2). An additional level comes into play through abstract faces or sea creatures. (detail 1a)
The idea touched on in an earlier article (new horizon) of no longer looking at an image in front of you, but rather standing in the center of the action, naturally takes on a special significance.
The light leads us further and further into the depths of the sea and reveals new worlds to us.
To the extent that we bring in details in color and shape, we get a corresponding end product.
act 2
The second act begins again with a very abstract image, which again outlines the events of the act through themes and composition.
Everything around us is condensed now, tremendous power is brewing from the interplay of the opposites like the abstract and the concrete.
The tension rises, and this force increases further and discharges explosively…..
….. emerges from the depths of the sea and, forming a powerful suction, washes around the earth and pulls everything with it into the depths.
act 3
The third act begins with the calm after the storm. The “gluttonous fish” has devoured everything, and calm is gradually spreading.
(an abstraction of the head of the “gluttonous fish” – detail)
Sky and sea begin to harmonize again and the light shows the way.
White, as light and principle, is taking up more and more space. The abstract and the concrete have found a playful and harmonious coexistence.
Closing scene
Towards the end, it gets very dramatic again and the “opera drums” are really hammered out before the light finally asserts itself and absorbs everything. (With Wagner, the orchestra consists of around 100 musicians, so we can really let it rip). This would result in a picture like the following one towards the very end in which the dark forces ease and gradually give way to the light.
The very last stroke I made in this picture is this blue, floating something in the upper left of the picture, which is hardly noticeable because of its delicacy, but which is nevertheless of great importance.
This something can refer to the sea and to the sky. It points far in the distance and is very close. It can be a fish and a bird, it is moved and rests in itself.
In this picture, if we mentally draw a curve from the blue something to the bottom edge of the page, we find its opposite: an explosion, which is the opposite of calm and stillness.
We are again in the void, in the nothingness, that contains everything – now white and radiant. And so the cycle is closed.
What if?
What if the project never materializes? Because there will be no corresponding AI program or AI will be banned at all?
What I particularly like about this project is that failure is already part of the concept. It wasn’t until I was writing the article that I remembered: there was something about the failure of an opera project?! Those who know the fantastic film Fitzcarraldo will remember how this great dreamer wanted to build an opera house in the jungle and failed miserably.
And like Klaus Kinski as Fitzcarraldo, I will not see failure as a defeat but will puff on a thick cigar happily – next to me the velvet-covered chair of the opera director. The only thing left of the project – at least physically 😊
footnotes:
[1] If you want to get an impression of this grandiose ring production, this link is recommended: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=wagner+ring+valencia+
[2] Like any new technology, artificial intelligence also offers opportunities and risks and it is up to us what we make of it. Although Italy recently banned ChatGPT, the ban will fall again I think.
[3] For this opera, I would use Richard Wagner and Japanese koto music as musical opposites and music by Brian Eno as a supporting base.
Leave a Reply