As an art form, opera has not typically been associated with cutting-edge technology. Born four centuries ago, it traditionally involves singers swaddled in corsets, tailcoats or togas acting out stories of courtly intrigue and mythological doom.
Yet the worlds of opera and technology are overlapping more and more, including in the realm of artificial intelligence, which has both its admirers and critics.
In one effort to examine the impact, the Royal Ballet and Opera in London is organizing an annual technology festival titled “RBO/Shift.” Planned for its first edition, set to run from June 4 to 7 next year, is a symposium exploring A.I. and opera-making, followed by performances, technology demonstrations, and conversations that showcase how artists and producers interact with A.I. and what kinds of creations audiences can expect as a result.
“Opera shouldn’t exist in a museum,” said Netia Jones, the Royal Opera’s associate director and the festival’s mastermind, in a video interview. “I don’t think it should be something that only refers to life as it was experienced or lived previously.”
Instead, opera should “deal with some of the biggest issues that we are dealing with today,” she said — such as the “rapid, almost shocking emergence” of A.I.
The Royal Opera’s director, Oliver Mears, agreed that A.I. is an opportunity that cannot be missed.
“Opera has a reputation for being often quite backward-looking, traditional, fusty,” yet it has “always been at the forefront of technological progress,” he said. He cited Handel’s spectacular 18th-century productions (which used complex stage technology to deliver visions such as flying dragons, enchanted islands and apparitions) and Wagner’s 19th-century lighting innovations, as well as contemporary opera’s video and engineering feats.
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The post The Royal Ballet and Opera Confronts the Rise of A.I. With a New Festival appeared first on New York Times.
