Digital Scenography in Opera in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

I owe a great debt to my supervisor, Katya Johanson, who has been my mentor, guide, and champion. I am grateful for the additional mentorship and support of Jordan Beth Vincent and Amanda Coles throughout this process, as well as my colleagues at the Deakin Motion.Lab, Peter Divers and Deanne Czarnecki. Professor Brenda Cherednichenko, Professor Joe Graffam, and Professor Jack Reynolds each played a role in supporting my studies at Deakin University, for which I am extremely thankful. My work would not have been possible without the support of my parents, sister, and husband, all of whom provided much-needed feedback, editing, and encouragement over the past four years. Additional thanks to Kim Vincs and Richard Mills for envisioning the possibilities of digital scenography in practice and giving me the opportunity to pursue this field of research.

Unequal opera-tunities: gender inequality and non-standard work in US opera production

“…Women comprised just 9% of video/projection designers (2 of 23) at Opera Philadelphia. This runs parallel to women's average representation in lighting design (15%), a field that requires similar equipment and technical skills (Vincent, 2022). However, women comprised 77% of credited video/projection designers (17 of 22) at Washington National Opera, the highest representation for women in any production role tracked in our study.…”

“…However, both the artistic and employment structures of the opera industry are distinct from those of classical music and theatre, with longstanding traditions and expectations for how operas should be realized on stage. As a further complication, the field continues to rely on a canon of works written by white European men in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, for which the roles of conductor and director evolved as artistic heirs (Vincent, 2022). Accordingly, both the operas programmed on stage and the creative roles that realize them behind the scenes have been historically dominated by men.…”

Technical Design and Production of Special Effects in Musical Theatre Performances

“…According to Krilova (2020), the use of sound, new technical tools, 3D technology, and its interdisciplinary materials like sound, light, colour, word, and plastic is the responsibility of composers and designers and engineers when creating musical and theatrical works. Similarly, Vincent (2021) suggests that the employment of digital scenography in practice and the ensuing effects on the creative organisation, production design processes, and organisational management are identified as having several vital linkages. Creating a comprehensive design requires study, several verification sessions, and a robust and intact end product.…”