ULULATIONS AND GURGLES OF THE INVISIBLE Opera in ASL Comes to Guerilla Opera

Guerilla Opera has announced the world premiere of Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible, a powerful and surreal new work in collaboration with the Urban Jazz Dance Company. The performances will run September 19-21, 2025 at the BCA Plaza Theatres in Boston, and continue for two more performances at CounterPulse in San Francisco.

Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible is a four-part interdisciplinary opera created by acclaimed composer Elisabet Curbelo, inspired by the poetry of Federico García Lorca. Performed by a cast of musicians and Deaf dancers, the piece merges live instrumentation, American Sign Language (ASL), and wearable technology to fuse sound and movement. Going against the tradition of opera as a sonic medium, all performers sign while playing or dancing, and the work is made accessible to hearing audiences via supertitles and audio descriptions for visually impaired audience members in English.

The cast is comprised of:

Mike Williams, percussion (“The Silent Boy”) 

Zahna Simon, Principal Dancer (“The Guiding Light”)

Yoko Hagino, piano (“The Shadow”)

Angela Yam, soprano (“The Queen of Crickets”)
Paunika Jones, Kelly Garrett, and Danielle Silk of Urban Jazz Dance Company

The creative team and crew is comprised of:

Composer, Sound Designer & Motion Sensor Technologist: Elisabet Curbelo 
Lead Deaf Choreographer: Antoine Hunter of Urban Jazz Dance Company
Ensemble Director: Mike Williams
Projections & Co-Production Design: Daniel B. Chapman  
Lighting Design & Co-Production Design: Keithlyn B Parkman
Stage Manager: Liz Diamond
Costume Designer: Kaylee Silcocks
Accessibility Partner: Think Outside the Vox

The project was first conceived in 2018 as Curbelo's dissertation at UC San Diego (UCSD), in collaboration with Angelo C. I. Ricasata, a dancer who is Deaf and fluent in ASL and LSE. Guerilla Opera first encountered the work when then-Executive Director Aliana de la Guardia searched for Latin American composers on Google, then went on to present the first public performance of Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible in a September 2023 workshop at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. The work was also featured at OPERA America's New Works Forum at the National Opera Center in New York City, in January 2025.

“Guerilla Opera and Urban Jazz Dance Company have been dream collaborators. Together we are not only creating a new opera, but also reimagining what opera can be when it emerges from Deaf culture, accessibility, and collective artistry from the very beginning. I hope audiences leave feeling that opera is an embrace that includes them as well." — Elisabet Curbelo, composer

“Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible blows away everything I've been taught about who opera is for, who gets to tell stories, who gets to be an artist in our society. I hope the artistic community and audiences will not only embrace this work, but understand what a monumental achievement this is for Elisabet, Urban Jazz Dance Company, and the Guerillas, and a watershed moment for opera and accessibility.” — Yooree Losordo, Interim Executive Director, Guerilla Opera

“We're not making a traditional opera and then scrambling to make it accessible later, or acting after the fact. We're creating the opera itself in the languages, rhythms, and aesthetics of Deaf and Disabled communities from the very start.” — Antoine Hunter, Founder & Artistic Director, Urban Jazz Dance Company

In addition to the performances, there will be a talkback with the entire creative team and cast immediately following the September 19 performance; a pre-show conversation for audience members who are new to opera on September 20; September 21 performance will be Audio Described and feature a tactile tour of the physical elements of the show preceding the performance.

Think Outside the Vox is the primary partner for Accessibility for all sides of the curtain. Vox is facilitating and delivering in multiple teams: backstage ASL interpreters for artists and production teams, Audio Description and a tactile tour on September 21st for Blind/Low-Vision audiences, and general accessibility for all audiences. Vox is an arts accessibility nonprofit dedicated to creating accessible experiences for and by Deaf, Blind and disabled artists and audiences.