Opera Philadelphia Streams the World Premiere Of TAKTAKSHOO Next Month

"Opera is long overdue for live vocal electronic manipulation," says composer Rene Orth.

The 18-month shutdown has given Orth, a graduate of Opera Philadelphia's Composer in Residence program, more time to explore the opportunities for electronics in opera and think about emerging from the pandemic into a more optimistic time.

"Music is fun and there's a part of life that's super joyful," Orth said, "and I want us to be able to remember that and create from that."

Inspired by poems of St. Augustine, Orth reached out to Toronto-based playwright Kanika Ambrose, a former collaborator at Tapestry Opera, about the libretto. They envisioned a resurrecting, energizing force inviting people to come into the world anew, as embodied through mezzo-soprano Kristen Choi and a quartet of dancers.

"I thought about dance and resurrection and rebirth and joy," Ambrose said, "and a lot of the anxiety we have around coming back to life as we know it."

Orth was also inspired by the artistic personalities of the entire artistic team. Watching Choi's Instagram videos, Orth and Ambrose saw an artist able to flip from opera to pop with joy and abandon, and a chance to tap into her personality as well as artistry. Orth, who is half-Chinese, was also intent on featuring an Asian singer outside of the confines of the traditional roles provided in opera.

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TakTakShoo fuses opera and K-pop, marimba and electronics, including Ableton Live and a MIMU glove, which converts gestures to sound and feeds into the choreographed element of the work.

"It is an exploration of my favorite things," Orth said, "opera, electronica, dance, emotional journeys, technology, a set of diverse and amazing collaborators, and a push of boundaries."

The piece also has a fragmented nature, reflective of Orth and Ambrose's evolving work processes as each became a new mom and redefined their schedules, finding short intervals and working through frustrations. It wasn't always easy, "but we still got a piece out of it," Orth said.

"We still got a piece and it's full of joy," Ambrose said, "which is kind of like parenting, too."

Director Jeffrey Page recognized a need for a respite in a world of lockdowns and political polarization. "We could use a reminder that we have within us an ability to be wild, spine-tingling, arousing, and electrifyingly zestful," Page said.

To Page, TakTakShoo represented a change in the world as we know it, as well as a cleansing, shaking off the stagnation of the past.

"TakTakShoo reframes how we think about the relationship between canonical works and the immediacy and technology of an activated 'NOW' ... Rene is pushing the envelope of what we have always understood opera to be, and its parallel of how this global pandemic has also forced us to recalibrate out-of-date ideas."

The first in the second season of Digital Commissions, TakTakShoo echoes the spirit of the first season, continuing to expand and explore what is possible in opera.

"I was deeply thankful that season one of the digital commissions resonated with so many," says Sarah Williams, Opera Philadelphia's Director of New Works and Creative Producer. "This series embraces the power of art to foster empathy and build understanding of timely and universal issues and the potential of technology to catalyze conversations and empower creatives. It's an opportunity to create forward-looking digital experiences, expand artistic practice, elevate a diversity of art, and engage with the global arts community."

Filmed in October at Christ Church Neighborhood House in Philadelphia, TakTakShoo features video production and post-production by Kevin Eikenberg and Evan Chapman of Four/Ten Media, with sound curation, supervision, and engineering by Rob Kaplowitz. The 10-minute film will be available for rent for $10 as well as unlimited viewing with an annual Channel Pass beginning Friday, Nov. 19. Visit operaphila.tv to start streaming the Opera Philadelphia Channel.