Mecanopy: A Robotic Opera Performance
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, U.S.A.
SUMMARY
VIDEOS LINKS AVAILABLE BELOW!
In this project a group of engineers and architects came together to create robots that could be used on a modern take of a popular opera performance of a classic myth: the Myth of Orpheus and Euridice. In this project my group and I created the Mecanopy, a controlable surface that hangs and glides in mid-air. It is a modernist representation of a death veil, and used on the performance as a representation of the news of the death of Euridice to her lover, Orpheus.
The play was called "", and was presented on the Slought Foundation on December 13th, 2014. As they explain rather eloquently in their words:
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, U.S.A.
SUMMARY
VIDEOS LINKS AVAILABLE BELOW!
In this project a group of engineers and architects came together to create robots that could be used on a modern take of a popular opera performance of a classic myth: the Myth of Orpheus and Euridice. In this project my group and I created the Mecanopy, a controlable surface that hangs and glides in mid-air. It is a modernist representation of a death veil, and used on the performance as a representation of the news of the death of Euridice to her lover, Orpheus.
The play was called "", and was presented on the Slought Foundation on December 13th, 2014. As they explain rather eloquently in their words:
Slought, the ModLab group at PennEngineering, and the Immersive Kinematics group at PennDesign, are pleased to announce Orpheus and Eurydice: Electromechanical Redux, a contemporary retelling of the classic operatic story, on Saturday, December 13, 2014 at 8pm at Slought(...)
The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is a classic operatic story in which Orpheus descends into the Underworld, tames the Furies, makes a plea to Hades and Persephone, and attempts the rescue of Eurydice. This project dynamically reworks this famous myth by foregrounding interaction among human opera singers, musicians, and actuated devices. Conceptually, Orpheus and Eurydice: Electromechanical Redux offers a series of exploratory sketches concerning how technology, live performance and narration can come together in retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The staging of the production will emulate a laboratory or workshop environment, and will be devoid of set, director or conventional staging.
The production team encompasses faculty and students from engineering and architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, an award-winning former composer-in-residence of Opera Philadelphia, and musicians from the Curtis Institute of Music, all working together with robotic performers and players.
The following video shows the different robots used on the play. Ours is shown in action at the very end of the video. Sadly, the play was not recorded, but a possible future performance may be possible.