OJS Bayreuth
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Neue musikalische Erfahrungen durch neue Technologien oder Was ist eigentlich Oper? – Eine Suche –
No full textStarting from the seemingly simple question ‘What actually is opera?’, this article unfolds an artistic-theoretical search that understands opera not as a historically fixed institution, but as an open practice. At its centre is singing as a defining yet unsettling element of musical theatre: as a radically artificial, physical and social act on the theatre stage. Drawing on his own work, the text reflects on the productive use of electroacoustic amplification, sampling and live electronics as compositional parameters that frame and recontextualise classical singing traditions. Opera is discussed both as an immersive sound event and as a political and social space of experience whose institutional conditions are increasingly being called into question. The search leads out of the opera house into the public and digital space, where voice, technology and movement create new forms of liveness, ritual and participation. Opera thus appears as an in-the-world experience, i.e. as an encounter between people through sound, which unfolds its contemporary relevance precisely in the interplay of body, technology and space
Cyber-psychedelische Séancen
No full textThe article outlines a musical theatre practice that is situated at the intersection of technology, ritual and the present day, and is summarised under the term “cyber-psychedelic séance”. Based on historical references such as Malevich\u27s Black Square and early stage machinery, the text reflects on the current crisis in artistic production in the age of artificial intelligence and cultural excess. The focus is on the work of the ensemble GAMUT INC, whose retro-futuristic musical theatre formats combine analogue sound machines, digital control, electronics, video and performance to create open spaces of resonance. Selected productions are used to show how musical theatre is conceived as a ritualistic, overwhelming and deliberately non-linear event that focuses less on narration and more on experience, simultaneity and ambiguity. The stage appears as an engine room in which historical technological fantasies, media-archaeological research and current discourses on human-machine relationships overlap. The text advocates a form of music theatre that asserts the uniqueness of live performance against digital reproducibility and develops new aesthetic and social relevance precisely through its play with apparatus and illusion
Zukunft der Oper und Co. – Abgesang oder Aufbruch? Kommentar und Reflexion
No full textBased on the lecture series Opera and Co. for the Future!? (University of Bayreuth, winter semester 2023/24), this paper examines the future prospects of opera and music theatre beyond linear narratives of progress. Three central areas of discourse are analysed: institution and space, technical progress and digitality, and artistic research and new formats. The article shows how, on the one hand, independent production methods and flexible spatial concepts are establishing themselves in response to institutional consolidation, while on the other hand, since the pandemic, digital media have become effective not only as an extension but also as independent presentation formats. In connection with ethical questions of access, responsibility, and the relationship between humans and machines, the focus is also on the controversially discussed artistic research, in particular Borgdorff\u27s concept of research "in art," whose potential for future opera production is critically examined.
Finally, the article problematises the influence of right-wing populist cultural policies on experimental forms of music theatre and advocates institutional flexibility, reflection on media ethics and a critically anchored artistic practice as prerequisites for the genre\u27s future viability
In Zukunft anders? Musiktheater zwischen Institution, Digitalität und Künstlerischer Forschung
No full textIn the winter semester of 2023/24, the lecture series ‘Opera and Co. for the Future!? Music Theatre between Institution, Digitality and Artistic Research’ at the Research Institute for Music Theatre (fimt) at the University of Bayreuth examined questions surrounding the transformation of opera in the present and looked into its possible future. The series was curated around three thematic areas: institution and space, technologisation and digitality, artistic research and new formats, and gave representatives from academia and practice a platform to express their views
!OHO! Offhandopera – Musiktheater aus dem Stegreif
No full textOffhandopera (!OHO!) describes a musical theatre format that relies radically on real-time improvisation and understands opera as a fleeting, processual act. It is based on a specially developed libretto that functions less as a fixed score than as an open system of structure and impulses, which is realised immediately by singers and instrumentalists without prior rehearsal. The focus is on collective authorship: music is created in the moment of its performance and unfolds in multi-stylistic sound spaces that elude any possibility of repetition. An improvisational conductor takes on a moderating, organising function, using gestural and verbal interventions to guide the dynamics, timing and tonal weightings without closing the open process. The staging remains flexible, ranging from concert settings to theatrical arrangements with lighting, projections and costumes. Beyond aesthetic practice, !OHO! sees itself as a music-theatrical research strategy that explores questions of intermediality, collective perception and emergent decision-making, while at the same time formulating impulses for a contemporary, experimental approach to opera education
Musiktheater – ein Ort für die Gesellschaft?
No full textThis article analyses participatory music theatre formats that reposition opera within the social and spatial fabric of cities. Using the example of the UFO Winterreise 1 project in Duisburg, in which over 200 singers aged between eight and eighty developed their own music theatre works, it shows how intergenerational collaboration both produces new compositional material and strengthens social cohesion. Against this backdrop, the text traces the growing importance of mobile, outreach-oriented and civic-engaged opera formats, from neighbourhood and community operas to rural projects that deliberately extend the sphere of influence of musical theatre into public and, above all, regional spaces. These developments respond to structural exclusion and require expanded educational and artistic skills. In view of the high proportion of so-called non-visitors, the article discusses cultural governance strategies that establish networks between theatres, educational institutions, civil society actors and local authorities. Empirical findings point to the individual and social effects of participatory processes, while at the same time identifying structural challenges. Inclusion-oriented design approaches appear to be a central prerequisite for democratic and sustainable opera practice
Musiktheaterdramaturgie modular: Wie Raumbühnen neue Optionen für Spielpläne und Ästhetiken schaffen. Ein Werkstattbericht aus dem Staatstheater Kassel
No full textThis article examines how large-format spatial stages (Raumbühne) as immersive performance arrangements are fundamentally changing repertoire planning, dramaturgy and audience perception in contemporary music theatre. Using the example of the multi-year development of Sebastian Hannak\u27s ANTIPOLIS and earlier projects in Kassel, it is shown that the construction of a 360° stage, with its considerable material and time requirements, forces new institutional logics. Since such structures cannot be erected for individual evenings, an independent repertoire emerges that also integrates frontal productions within so-called ‘buffer zones,’ thereby cushioning the pressure of the traditional repertoire system. Shared scenic elements create visual coherence across multiple productions and mark an aesthetic paradigm shift from illusionistic transformation to the active use of space. The text identifies works and formats that productively incorporate decentralised perspectives, participation and live video, and describes the spatial stage as a ‘theatre of experience’ that negotiates social and political issues. Digital enhancements and sustainable stage concepts point to the spatial stage as a sustainable, interdisciplinary model of music theatre
Liveness einer Maschine? Überlegungen zum Digitalen Musiktheater während der COVID-19 Pandemie
No full textThe following text was inspired by the lecture Mensch, Musik, Maschine: Wer gibt den Takt an? by Bernhard Glocksin (Artistic Director of Neuköllner Oper, Berlin), which took place on December 5, 2023, as part of the digital lecture series Oper und Co. Für die Zukunft!?: Musiktheater zwischen Institution, Digitalität und Künstlerischer Forschung. The lecture presented productions by the Neuköllner Oper from 2020–2022, including the project oper.digital. The productions, which were created during the COVID-19 pandemic, focused on the integration of digital media at various levels, from artificial intelligence that generated works or parts of works to the transmission of the performance via the internet in the form of streaming. This text examines how the performance situation changes in such productions. Among other things, audience applause, which is considered conventional in live performances, proves to be one of the aspects of the performance that, on the one hand, enables interaction between the performers and, on the other hand, poses new challenges in digital formats
Reenactment der Wagner’schen Solo-Lese-Performance des "Rheingold"
No full textIm Rahmen des Erkenntnistransferprojekts „Wagnergesang im 21. Jahrhundert - historisch informiert“ am Forschungsinstitut für Musiktheater (fimt) der Universität Bayreuth, das eine historisch informierte Aufführung von Wagners Ring des Nibelungen (Musikalische Leitung: Kent Nagano) mit Methoden der künstlerischen Forschung zum Ziel hat. Aufgeführt wurde eine solistische Leseperformance des kompletten Rheingold-Librettos, wie sie Wagner selbst als Vorstufe zur Uraufführung mehrfach zur Aufführung brachte. Die Performerin Amélie Haller übernahm den Part Wagners und spielte in einer 105-minütigen Aufführung alle 14 Rollen des Rheingold (Göttinnen und Götter, Riesen, Nibelungen, Rheintöchter). Dieses Reenactment stützte sich auf Recherchen zur historischen Aussprache, Mimik und Gestik. Die reine Textperformance, die das semiotische System von Wagners Musik ausblendet, ermöglicht es, neue Aspekte der Rezeption in den Blick zu nehmen und Forschungsfragen zu beantworten, die bei einer konzertanten oder voll inszenierten Aufführung in den Hintergrund treten würden. Neben der Aufführung, die auch in der Fachpresse als eigenständiges Kunstwerk rezipiert wurde, lieferte die künstlerische Recherche Ergebnisse zu mehreren Fragenkomplexen, die im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts weiter bearbeitet werden. Die Methode lieferte Antworten auf Fragen in den folgenden Bereichen: Aufführungstempi, Sprachgestaltung und melodische Linie, Rolleninterpretation, Probleme bei der Uraufführung 1876 mit der bühnenpraktischen Umsetzung (Bühnenbild und Spezialeffekte), dargestelltes Frauenbild, dem Werk eingeschriebener Antisemitismus. Der digitale Essay dokumentiert Prinzipien, Methodik und Ergebnisse des Reenactments anhand einer schriftlichen Auswertung und thematisch gegliederter Videoausschnitte. Darüber hinaus ist ein vollständiger Mitschnitt der Aufführung verfügbar
Rainer Markgraf Stiftung - Wissenschaftsförderung in der Region
Full text linkRainer Markgraf Stiftung - Wissenschaftsförderung in der Region