Opera for Everyone: The Industry's Experiments with American Opera in the Digital Age

Opera for Everyone explores the acclaimed experimental productions of The Industry, a Los Angeles-based opera company, and their integration of new media and interactive performance. It traces the company's path from Crescent City (2012) to Sweet Land (2020) and argues that The Industry's productions expose the economic and aesthetic structures key to the circulation of operatic performance while deploying opera as a tool for digital listening, community engagement, popular entertainment, and commentary on systemic racism and settler colonialism.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 308 pages
Publication date: 30 April 2024
Publisher: The University of Michigan Press

Opera for Everyone: The Industry's Experiments with American Opera in the Digital Age is a comprehensive study that explores the acclaimed experimental productions of Los Angeles-based opera company The Industry. Drawing on seven years of multi-sited ethnography, the book examines how The Industry's productions integrate new media and interactive performance through site-specificity and simulcast video, and how they have evolved from Crescent City (2012) to Sweet Land (2020). The author, Steigerwald Ille, argues that by moving opera outside of the opera house, The Industry's productions expose the economic and aesthetic structures that are key to the circulation of operatic performance, while also deploying opera as a tool for digital listening, community engagement, popular entertainment, and commentary on systemic racism and settler colonialism. Through ethnographic work with The Industry's creators and performers, as well as close examination of the company's first decade of work, the book reveals how The Industry paradoxically provides both a roadmap and boundary line for experimental and traditional companies trying to find new ways to approach operatic performance in the twenty-first century United States.

The Industry's Productions: A New Wave of U.S. Operas
The Industry's productions are part of a new wave of U.S. operas that integrate new media and interactive performance through site-specificity and simulcast video. These productions have been praised for their innovative approach to operatic performance, which has challenged traditional notions of what opera can be.

Crescent City (2012): The Industry's First Production
Crescent City was The Industry's first production, and it was a groundbreaking work that combined opera with site-specificity and simulcast video. The production was set in a post-apocalyptic world, and it featured a cast of professional singers and actors who performed in a variety of locations throughout the city. The production was also simulcast to a live audience in a nearby theater, allowing people to experience the performance in a unique and immersive way.

Sweet Land (2020): The Industry's Final Production
Sweet Land was The Industry's final production before switching to a new production model. The production was set in a rural community in the Midwest, and it featured a cast of amateur singers and actors who performed in a variety of locations throughout the community. The production was also simulcast to a live audience in a nearby theater, allowing people to experience the performance in a unique and immersive way.

The Industry's Approach to New Media and Interactive Performance
The Industry's approach to new media and interactive performance is unique and innovative. The company uses site-specificity to create a sense of place and to connect the audience with the performance. For example, in Crescent City, the production was set in a post-apocalyptic world, and the audience was able to experience the performance in a variety of locations throughout the city, including abandoned buildings, warehouses, and parks.

Simulcast video is also used to create a sense of community and to allow people to experience the performance in a unique and immersive way. In Sweet Land, the production was simulcast to a live audience in a nearby theater, allowing people to experience the performance in a unique and immersive way.

The Industry's Impact on Opera
The Industry's productions have had a significant impact on opera. They have challenged traditional notions of what opera can be, and they have opened up new opportunities for opera to reach a wider audience. By moving opera outside of the opera house, The Industry's productions have exposed the economic and aesthetic structures that are key to the circulation of operatic performance.

The Industry's productions have also been used as a tool for digital listening, community engagement, popular entertainment, and commentary on systemic racism and settler colonialism. For example, in Sweet Land, the production was set in a rural community in the Midwest, and it featured a cast of amateur singers and actors who performed in a variety of locations throughout the community. The production was also simulcast to a live audience in a nearby theater, allowing people to experience the performance in a unique and immersive way.

Conclusion
Opera for Everyone: The Industry's Experiments with American Opera in the Digital Age is a comprehensive study that explores the acclaimed experimental productions of Los Angeles-based opera company The Industry. The book argues that by moving opera outside of the opera house, The Industry's productions expose the economic and aesthetic structures that are key to the circulation of operatic performance, while also deploying opera as a tool for digital listening, community engagement, popular entertainment, and commentary on systemic racism and settler colonialism. Through ethnographic work with The Industry's creators and performers, and close examination of the company's first decade of work, the book reveals how The Industry paradoxically provides both a roadmap and boundary line for experimental and traditional companies trying to find new ways to approach operatic performance in the twenty-first century United States.

Weight: 454g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780472056644