Notice on the Presentation of the New Opera
Opera Synthetica “BUNGONOJO”
In October, the JP Tower Museum INTERMEDIATHEQUE will be hosting the new opera work Opera Synthetica “BUNGONOJO”, a unique attempt to play orchestration composed with software synthesizer on various devices such as gramophones.
Lately, with the remarkable development of software synthesizer technology, it is no exaggeration to state that live execution of background music has almost disappeared from commercials and television dramas. Nonetheless, there was no attempt to entirely synthesize a full-orchestra opera.
Ten years have passed since we started working on this opera. The present staging is an experimental attempt to play orchestral music synthesized by means of a high quality software on several speakers (two pre-war gramophones, a stereo set from the Satoshi Yuze collection, and stereo speakers of the latest technology), all at the same time. The speakers from the Yuze collection are thought to be from the JBL Signature series made around 1960. Therefore, various types of sound quality from differing eras, from the pre-electrical age and the generalization of stereo recording to the contemporary era, are intermingled.
A word about the software synthesizer system. The method consists in recording every single note of every instrument in every possible situation (such as forte or piano, staccato or slur), and blending them delicately according to the motif of the music and the way of playing each instrument. This way, it is possible to synthesize a whole piece with a higher sense of reality.
The present opera consists of two acts, and depicts the legends related to the life of the joruri narrator Miyakoji Bungonojo who achieved great success during the Kyoho era in the beginning of the 1700s, and the ban on joruri edicted by the shogunate.
Key Information
［Title］ “Opera Synthetica - BUNGONOJO”
［Date］ Thursday, October 9, 2014 5:30 p.m.
Friday, October 10, 2014 5:30 p.m.
(expected to end at 7:30 p.m.)
The program is the same for both days.
［Venue］ ACADEMIA, Intermediatheque 2nd floor
［Production, composition, staging］ Hirohisa Mori (Associate Professor, Intermediatheque Department + Associate Professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies / Information Science)
［Scenario］ Masayasu Komiyama
［Organizer］ The University Museum, the University of Tokyo (UMUT)
Admission free (no reservation required)
Language: Japanese (no subtitles)
The number of seats limited to 48.
［Address］ JP Tower/KITTE 2-3F, 2-7-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
［Access］ JR lines and Tokyo Metro Marunouchi line Tokyo Station. Direct access from the Marunouchi Underground Pathway.
http://www.intermediatheque.jp/
Contact:
Intermediatheque: 03-5777-8600 (Hello Dial)