TVs and Cables and Mics, Oh My!

April 5, 2008 - Our current production of Orpheus in the Underworld draws on imagery from the wild and whacky world of television, particularly so-called Reality TV. One of the things that I love about Reality TV (yes, I admit it - My name is John and I'm a TVaholic) is that it is far more surreal, over-the-top, and "operatic" than scripted television could ever hope to be. Consequently, it has proven to be a fertile design inspiration for an opera that includes a dead wife leaving a message for her husband that she is dead, a revolt of the gods due to lack of dietary variety, and a woman making love to a man disguised as a giant fly. Yes, this is all happening on the OV stage, NOT on FoxTV or VH1. The other byproduct of this design concept however is that OV has ventured into a technology realm more commonly associated with commercial/popular entertainment. Yesterday was spent ganging 9 TVs together and cabling them to a video amplifier (sometimes by way of a video converter), hanging lycos and fresnels (two different types of lighting instruments), and setting up a portable PA system for the "commercials" and "pop music tributes". Thom Bumblauskas, our set designer said (as I was testing out the PA system): "You know, I think a strange unease just rippled through the cosmic operatic ether." Well, I think Thom might be overstating the case a bit, but suffice it to say, I'm pretty sure you will see things in this production that you haven't seen before in an opera. All part of the extraordinary journey that has been OV's tenth season. Tickets are rapidly disappearing (particularly for the first weekend) so don't wait. Order today.

See you at the opera! - John Bowen