LIBERTARIA: THE VIRTUAL OPERA by Sabrina Pea Young

CONCEPT: To create a 21 st century opera that combines current technologies with traditional classical composition in a new and exciting way to reach a broader audience and create a unique hybrid of contemporary 21st century opera reflective of the Digital Age. METHODS: Use of the following elements 1) Traditional Opera Cast 2) Science Fiction Libretto reflective of sociopolitical concerns relevant to today 3) Electroacoustic Music, Sound Synthesis, Vocal Synthesis, and Software Instruments 4) Recordings from human cast members 5) Use of virtual voices for opera chorus, bit players, secondary roles, and for one minor character (Gabe) 6) Crowdsourcing for Animation and Sound Teams 7) Virtual Auditions 8) Virtual Launch Party (release of the opera to 100 select venues, including universities, galleries, festivals, theaters, concert venues, etc. as well as online in 2013-tbd). 9) Machinima and Computer Animation 10) Entire communication for the opera conducted online (no traditional rehearsals) 11) Marketing and promotions using internet resources of all kinds VIRTUAL AUDITIONS Using a variety of sites, I conducted online auditions. The call was posted throughout the web, including MusicXray, Blogger, FB, listserves, OurStage, Panpipes, etc. Sample Call:
Want to volunteer your vocal or acting talents for this project? Audition online through Music Xray:

http://www.musicxray.com/interactions/1414/submissions/new I will be conducting online auditions until August 2011. You can also contact me directly through: spenayoung@gmail.com Please put Opera Audition in the email header.

Auditions came in (and continues) to come in from all over the world. A core cast of 10 was selected. Since the original cast selections, there have been a few changes to the cast, with some additions of actors and singers to fill in roles. Auditions consisted of a short one minute clip of the singer's choice and then an excerpt from the opera (Director's selection). The advantages of an animated opera includes being able to combine cast member recordings to make a single voice. For this reason, a few key roles have two singers playing the roles. This allows for creative mixing and morphing of voices during post production. Additionally, each cast member plays multiple roles that will be altered in post production to produce different voices. A key example is the character Gabe, who plays one of the three main male roles. Gabe's character is a veteran whose voicebox was destroyed in previous conflicts. Because of this and his decision to join the Underground, Gabe's voicebox morphs and distorts his voice. To create this effect, a human cast member's voice will be mixed with vocal synthesis from programs like Vocal Writer and Symphonic Choirs, as well as vocoder plug-ins, to create a unique robotic voice with human qualities. Other characters, such as the Collective (a team of evil geneticists that have reverse aged to a perverse adult infanthood), also use electronic sounds as their voices, mixed with human vocals. THE STORY As a professional writer and composer that is obsessed with sci-fi, I created a simple libretto that combines with my vision for a visually compelling electronic opera. The story delves into sociopolitical commentary about the politics of our time and the role that economics play in our value of life, genetics, and medicine, while also taking some of the most common fears of the modern age and accelerating them to an apocalyptic end within a century. While bleak, the story should be seen as an incredibly surreal and skewed mirror of possible futures for present day society, as well as an extremely veiled autobiographical confession. Its the year 2139, and United States, decimated by nuclear war in the last half of the 21st century has splintered off into territorial factions. The sky has grown red, the water runs black, and hope rests on the shoulders of a young teen. Meet Libertaria, of unknown origin and unknown place. Left as an infant in the abandoned Lady Liberty Souvenir Shop in the year 2125, she spent her early years bouncing within the Factory. Aided by a woman known only as Nurse, Libertaria escapes Factory at the age of 14, traveling the bullet train from Nueva York, the capitol of the USSA, to New Miami in search of the one person that ever showed her kindness. A mysterious glowing medallion leads her to the Underground, a society of children led by the seemingly immortal Simeon. Hunted by the Apothetae Army Police,

Simeon and his closest allies, Miguel, Lucy, and Gabe, attempt to protect the innocent and helpless from the Collective, an immoral mysterious alliance of seven geneticists who control the Factory. Before its all over, Libertaria will lead a childrens rebellion against the Collective, destroying the Factory and leading the dystopic USSA to freedom. THE MUSIC The score for Libertaria combines traditional choral writing, sound synthesis, and contemporary composition in a hybrid electroacoustic track involving recorded vocals, vocal synthesis, and electronic music. Hovering between categories, the score for Libertaria tells a story but also gives the audience a sonic experience, literally placing each audience member in the sonic reality that is Libertaria. The original libretto combines traditional lyricism with a hodge podge of musique concrete, synthesis, and filmscoring that is typical of Young's works. What results is a lush, slightly neurotic, unforgettable score that gleans materials from all corners of the globe and all aspects of contemporary composition. Dr. Clare Shore serves as the Music Advisor for the opera, with additional insight provided by other technical advisors. Creating the music materials involves the creating a compositional sketch with oldfashioned paper and piano, realizing that sketch using a combination of Finale and Logic, then creating click tracks. After the creation of click tracks, each cast member receives a click strack with piano playing their parts, as well as a score tailored to their role. Essentially the composer creates four versions of each song: Handwritten sketch, Logic Mix, Finale score, Click mix (combination of Finale and Logic score). The biggest challenge has been moving between Finale and Logic and ensuring that the final score and tracks match perfectly. Each score also has a score reduction that matches the tape, as well as time codes, and dramatic actions. A full opera book will be available for Libertaria online, and groups have already indicated an interest in performing both the electronic and acoustic versions of the tracks. The screenplay/libretto will be available online, as well.

THE CHARACTERS There are several main characters to Libertaria. Wanting to reflect a more diverse operatic cast than most popular operas of the past, each character exhibits a combination of ethnicities, social classes, genders, and ages. Perhaps this is simply a lame attempt to present an opera that more closely reflects the true demographics of the globe, but it is a purposeful attempt to create an albeit dystopic world that reflects a broad mosaic of diversity and realities. Libertaria: Teenage runaway from the Factory who teams up with her addict father in the quest to find the Nurse, who raised her and was abducted by the Collective. Lucinde: Young girl who suffered incredible burns in an explosion as an infant. It is hinted that she is Simeon's long lost daughter. Throughout she vacillates between love and hate for Simeon and the Underground society he has created. Eventually her actions bring about the demise of all around her. Lucinde also heads up the espionage and military division with Miguel. Simeon: A megalomaniac addict whose obsession with Metal Ink (an antiaging drug) conflicts with his role as leader of the Underground, a society of misfits, children, and the elderly who otherwise would become victims of the Factory. His moments of narcissism are peppered with regrets for the wife and child he lost long ago.

Gabe: One of Simeon's right hand men, a religious figure of sorts in charge of education (and brainwashing) of the Underground children. His injury as a veteran leaves him speaking through a poorly rigged voicebox. Miguel: Head of the military and thwarted love interest of Lucinde. The Collective: A group of geneticists who invented an anti-age serum at the end of the 21st century. Now in 2139AD they maintain their embryonic appearances and seeming immortality through the Metal Ink serum, which they manufacture in a dubious (and previously illegal) fashion. The Nurse: A former Factory brat, the Nurse, who remanes unnamed, takes Libertaria under her wing after events that changed Libertaria's destiny forever. The Nurse helps Libertaria escape but finds herself in the dreaded Apothetae II Ward, a living donor for Metal Ink. In addition to the main characters, there are 30+ additional minor characters played by cast members functioning in multiple roles. PRODUCTION During music production, the cast members receive scores, click tracks, and other materials to help them practice their roles. One of the requirements for being a cast member includes being able to record vocals at location. This has been a challenge, as a few cast members have never recorded their voices before. Generally I suggest that cast members have someone with sound experience help them. Since many cast members are graduate students, music teachers, or indie musicians, most have access to equipment and personnel to help with recording. The sound team cleans up raw recordings for the mix. It is a tedious process for both cast members (who do not have the benefits of rehearsals) and the sound team (which has to comb through hundreds of takes). The music production stage is nearly a yearlong process. ANIMATION Headed by Art Director and professional animator Caroline Damien, the animation portion of the opera is slated for Summer 2012-January 2013. Animation on the project depends on music production completion. Following more of a music video production schedule, the animation team, consisting of several talented professional, machinima animators, and graphics specialists, will work together to create a feature length animation using a combination of programs like Maya, Moviestorm, Bryce, Final Cut, Photoshop, Poser, and numerous other third party software programs. The challenge will be keeping to the artistic vision of an animated opera. In keeping

with this, the animators are encouraged to allow their characters to act like opera singers, with staging, sets, and directions similar to that of an opera. For example, the final score will not have an additional "ambient" track with background city noise and room reverb, typical in films. Instead, the music and musical effects, with minimal additional synthesized sound effects, will create a film atmoshpere that clearly belongs in the realm of music and opera. Animated characters will knowingly act as if they are on the operatic stage and have a live audience, with positioning and expressions commonly seen in the traditional opera. Lip syncing is always a challenge, even for large production studios, but will be necessary throughout the opera. Some of the sound and animation work has been crowdsourced using the site Wreckamovie, an online platform in Sweden that helps directors complete large scale project (such as films and operas) using crowdsourcing. The opera "Opera by You" is an inspirationg for the use of crowdsourcing for Libertaria. LIBERTARIA VIRTUAL LAUNCH PARTY Wishing to open up this new form of opera to a wider audience outside of traditional high end opera, the Libertaria Virtual Launch Party will take place online and in 100 select venues throughout the world, in addition to music and film festivals and online. Persons and organizations interested in the Virtual Launch Party contact the composer through e-mail with contact information, screening description, and information about the organization. The hope is that these free screenings will open up opera to a wider 21st century opera. Online releases hope to expose opera to a younger, diverse, and more tech-savvy audience than those typically served by traditional opera. Part of the inspiration for the Virtual Launch Party comes from the Met Live in HD series. As part of the 2013 LIbertaria Virtual Launch Party, 100 institutions will receive a free press pack with a prelease Libertaria DVD for their own Libertaria Virtual Launch Party. Who can be part of the VIRTUAL LAUNCH PARTY? Film Clubs University Departments (Film, music, art, theater, opera workshops, art,feminist theory, political science, etc.) Film Departments Art Galleries Student Groups Theaters Libraries Festivals Clubs Community Centers Select Individuals (Who can commit to a public screening of Libertaria) If you are part of a university, gallery space, theater, etc. that can host a Libertaria Virtual Screeing Party, e-mail Spenayoung@gmail.com with the subject title

Liberaria Virtual Launch Party. Include the name of your institution, a contact person, and URL. Private individuals that would like to host their own public viewing ofLibertaria: The Virtual Opera in 2013 and receive the free press package need to include specific details regarding venue, expected attendance, and the bio of the host. Libertaria: The Virtual Opera is recommended for mature audiences. FUNDING: Current funding for Libertaria has been exclusively through composer personal funds and the generous in-kind donations of talent from the cast and crew members and donations made through the purchase of the Libertaria: The Virtual Opera (Instrumental) Album at Bandcamp.com. Once music production is completed, the hope is to gain additional funding through grants and online sites like Kickstarter. THE FUTURE OF LIBERTARIA: Libertaria will eventually be available in multiple media forms: DVD, webisodes, streaming, digital book, graphic novel, cast album, interactive media, etc. The hope is to present the opera in many new ways that are available in the Digital Age, including possible live multimedia performances in the far future. Perhaps this redefines opera as a musical form, but my hope is that Libertaria inspires others to keep the operatic form alive in new and exciting ways. Festivals and publications have been interested in the project, even at the music production stage. An article was published last year in Panpipes about the opera, and the IAWM Music Journal has requested a two part article on the processes involved in the creation of a virtual opera. Other opportunities through publications and festivals have presented themselves. COMPOSER BIO Intermedia composer, percussionist, author, and obsessive sci-fi buff, Young composes mind-numbing electroacoustic works heard in Asia, North America, Australia, and Europe. Her music has been heard in film festivals, radio, electronic dance clubs, random boom boxes in France, and as not-so-pleasant background music. Her multimedia works have been performed at venues like the Beijing Conservatory, the International Computer Music Conference, Miramaxs Project Greenlight, the Athena Festival, the New York International Independent Film Festival, Art Basil Miami, Turkeys Cinema for Peace, and Pulsefield International Exhibition of Sound Art. CAST AND CREW (subject to change) Libertaria: Kate Sikora and Gracia Gillund Lucinde: Gretchen Suarez-Pea Simeon: Matthew Meadows, tbd The Nurse, The Mother: Christina Sidaras Gabe/Miguel: Joe Cameron and Lucas Matias Mora Additional Cast Members: Gilbert Halcrow, Alan Manuel Pea, Jennifer Hemansky, Perry Cook, Eva Rose Young, tbd.

Music Advisor: Dr. Clare Shore Art Director: Caroline Damien Animation: Lucinda McNary, Graeme Taylor, Kera Hilderandt, Nick Sikora Sound: Patrick Neher, Tero Koski Additional Music Technical Advisor: Steve Holt, Joel and Susan Haas A special thanks to Nathan Young and Dr. Clare Shore.