technOpera - Invitation to participate

Deadline for submission
of proposal

Aïda de Giuseppe Verdi
FRIDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2006

Proposals have to be received at the Opéra
de Montréal offices by 5pm on the respective days at:

Opéra de Montréal
c/o Pierre Vachon, Special Projects Coordinator
260, boul. de Maisonneuve West
Montreal (QC) H2X 1Y9

Announcement of selected teams
Aïda de Giuseppe Verdi
FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2006

Following a first experience
in 2004-2005, Opéra de Montréal (OdM) and the Society for
Arts and Technology (SAT) have decided to program three (3) technOpéra
events for the 2005-2006 season.

The TechnOpéra events are a series of experimental
performances that are the result of a collaboration between one (1) or
two (2) video jockeys, one (1) or two (2) new media musicians and opera
singers from the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal.

The artists develop a creative and original concept inspired
by some specific themes of the respective operas that serve as the basis
for each TechnOpéra. The objective is to explore themes from the
operas with tools and artistic approaches from the new media universe.
There will be a minimum of three meetings and two dress rehearsals to
prepare each event. The artists will develop their concepts outside of
those meetings on their own time.

The artists are expected to prepare original creative material
for a performance of at least 45 minutes and no longer than 1 hour and
30 minutes.

Thursday, November 10, 2005 –
L’Étoile by Emmanuel Chabrier
Thursday, March 16, 2006 – Turn of the Screw by Benjamin
Britten
Thursday, May 4, 2006 – Aïda by Giuseppe Verdi

All events are held at the SAT as part of the SAT[MixSessions]
programming and start at 7:00pm. They are preceded by a brief introduction.
The doors open at 6 pm. The events are offered for free to the OdM 18-30
subscribers and active SAT members and for a ticket fee to the general
public. [MixSessions] artists will animate the Café after the end
of the show. 

At the SAT, 1195 St. Laurent
Boulevard (between Ste-Catherine and René-Lévesque)

Artists must submit a proposal
as a team of at least three people one (1) or two (2) video jockey
and one (1) or two (2) new media musicians by the indicated deadline.
Artists can choose to work as a larger team. The proposal should not exceed
two (2) written pages. The artistic team must provide visual and sound
samples of their previous work and a portfolio of their accomplishments.

FRIDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2006 – Aïda
by Giuseppe Verdi
The proposals have to be received at the Opéra de Montréal
offices by 5pm on the respective days at:

Opéra de Montréal
c/o Pierre Vachon, Special Projects Coordinator
260, boul. de Maisonneuve West
Montreal (QC) H2X 1Y9

FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2006 – Aïda
by Giuseppe Verdi

An artistic committee of SAT
and OdM professionals will review each proposal and choose the artistic
teams based on the following general criteria:

– originality of the concept
– connection between the concept and the original opera
– motives for wanting to do the project
– CV
– audio and video demo (DVD/CD) of a maximum length of five (5) minutes

• A residency at the SAT (4 days of access to the SAT studios and equipment)
• Use of the SAT space and equipment for the event
• Use of the SAT space and equipment for pre-dress and dress rehearsals
• Support by the SAT technicians in the set-up and running of the event

Fee : $1950 in total will be granted for both artistic
teams
$600 per team for preparation
$375 per team for the event

At least two professional opera singers from the Atelier
lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal will be working with each new media team
in the creation and presentation of the technOpera event.

An Odm staff member will accompany each team as a counsellor
for the staging of the event (for examples: the staging of the Atelier
lyrique singers in the SAT space during the performance; a sounding
board regarding the refinement of the concept based on the opera).

A pair of tickets for each member of the artistic team
to attend the actual opera production at the base of the technOpera.

Planned meetings

Introduction to the opera

Purpose: to present the opera in general and develop
a concept
Timeframe: In January for Turn of the Screw / In March for Aïda
Location: Atelier lyrique or Opera de Montréal

1st concept meeting

Purpose: Discussion and validation of the concept with
the OdM professionals from the Selection Committee
Timeframe: To be determined with the artists
Location: Atelier lyrique

2nd meeting (Practice)

Purpose: Discussion and practice with the Atelier lyrique’s
singers and artists.
Timeframe: To be determined with the artists
Location: Atelier lyrique

3rd meeting (Practice)

Purpose: Practice with the Atelier lyrique’s singers
and artists.
Timeframe: To be determined with the artists
Location: Atelier lyrique

Technical meeting

Purpose: Make a technical plan of the event with the
technique director of the SAT
Timeframe: The week before the event
Location: SAT

Pre-dress rehearsal

Purpose: Run-through of the artistic exploration in
the SAT space with the basic equipment in place, but not a full set-up.
Timeframe: In the week before the event
Location: SAT

Dress rehearsal

Purpose: Run-through of the show in the full set-up
Timeframe: The day of the event from 1pm to 5pm
Location: SAT

L’Étoile,
Emmanuel Chabrier

O little star… tell me the future! The naively
self-assured King Ouf I customarily celebrates his birthday with a public
execution. The year’s selected victim, a young peddler, escapes
his punishment thanks to an astrologer’s prediction, and goes
on to ridicule the king by seducing his royal fiancée. Operetta
at its best!

L’étoile is one of the jewels of
the 19th century French opera repertoire.

For further information on the artist and the opera:
http://www.classicalarchives.com/bios/codm/chabrier.html

Turn of the Screw, Benjamin  Britten

Is this sheltered place the wicked world where things
unspoken of can be? In an old manor, two children are under the
spell of two ghosts – their former manservant and their former
governess. Into their world comes a devoted new governess who tries
to act as a screen against the evil spell which, nonetheless, proves
fatal to one of the children. An atmosphere of anxiety, punctuated by
childish naivety. Turn of the Screw… Britten’s
tender lyricism lends itself to Henry James’s bewitching, oft-filmed,
novel.

For further information on the artist and the opera:
http://opera.stanford.edu/Britten/

http://www.allaboutopera.com/opera_resources.php?opera_ndx=105

Aïda, Giuseppe Verdi

You shall be my crowning glory, we shall live blessed by
eternal love. What good are the laurels of victory to a young warrior
if he must give up his woman? For the love of Aida, a young Ethiopian
slave to the Egyptians, Radames jeopardizes his homeland, resists the
lure of glory, withstands the charms of the pharaoh’s powerful
daughter, and accepts death. A sweet death however, for his beloved
has slipped in to join him in his crypt, to put love to the ultimate
test.

For further information on the artist and the opera:

http://www.classicalarchives.com/bios/codm/verdi.html

Active SAT members: the creators
and researchers who collaborate actively with the SAT and/or are members
of the Collège des chercheurs

The SAT offers the artists a residency status at the SAT
for a period of four (4) working days. This includes adequate access to
a studio and use of available equipment and spaces at the SAT in preparation
of the event – a schedule of production for each residency will
be defined prior to the beginning of the residency and according to availability
at the SAT. This will be determined in a meeting with Joseph Lefèvre
or the SAT Director of residencies.

The SAT will provide the artists with the use of its technologies,
equipments and installations in preparation of and during the events (general
rehearsal and event),  including a minimum of 3 video projectors
/ 1 VJ booth for 2 VJs / 1 DJ booth for 1 musician / 3 screens / convenient
lighting / SAT sound system / microphone & cables ). The SAT will
provide the technology and assistance of operators required to manage
the aforementioned equipment, technologies and installations during the
events.

Payment schedule: 25% upon signing of the contract; 25%
after the 1st concept meeting; 50% at the end of the 1st dress rehearsal;
performance cachet: at the end of the performance