Opera, dance, robotics, video, new music and the man/woman-artist in an unusual, hybrid form!
ReCallas Medea is an interdisciplinary, interactive opera and unique original project by Carl and Åsa Unander-Scharin(SE) which explores the relationship of operatic art and new technologies, in other words, the strength and weakness of this relationship. ReCallas Medea interweaves and opposes opera, dance, robotics, video, new music and the man/woman-artist in an unusual, hybrid form which is also, besides a platform for an experiment, a homage to Maria Callas, the greatest opera diva of all time.
The basic aim of the project is to encourage the audience to explore and get to know operatic vocals in a different environment from that which is present in standard opera forms. The singers themselves style a musical accompaniment with the movements of their own bodies and due to the specially programmed computers, they produce certain sounds. In that way, the singers themselves become responsible for the performance, the tempo and interpretation, which is a challenge that also offers them the space for growth and a better familiarisation of themselves as artists. In the creation of the ReCallas Medea project various technologies were used, some are adapted and modified variations of earlier technological solutions in the Opera Mecatronica project, whilst some of them, such as the Aerial Robotic Choir, were developed especially for the ReCallas Medea opera.