Robot Opera - What's Next?

Performance / Demonstration / Discussion

The Centre for Research in Opera and Music Theatre at the University of Sussex is happy to present the next instalment of our Robot Opera research project, hosted by the Sussex Humanities Lab. Robot Opera - What's Next brings together singer Loré Lixenberg & cellist Anton Lukoszevieze of Apartment House, together with a Pepper Robot, composer Evelyn Ficarra, programmers Deepeka Khosla & Kopiga Kugananthavel, instrument designer Sam Bilbow, and Sussex academics Nick Till & Ron Chrisley to explore musical and theatrical relationships across the human / robot divide.

Using improvisation and creative programming, we explore issues that arise through this entwining of the human and the digital, touching on notions of embodiment, performance and vocality. How do we 'read' robot presence on a stage? How can a robot relate to human actors / musicians, and vice versa? What levels of autonomy can a theatrical robot have? How can we explore and create new forms of robotic vocal virtuosity, and how might this feed back into human musical language? What would a robot cello look like and sound like? Join us for our work in progress performance / demonstration, followed by discussion.

To find the Sussex Humanities Lab, where this event will take place, please go to https://www.sussex.ac.uk/about/documents/uos-campus-map.pdf and find the Silverstone Building. The lab is in room 211. Arrive from 3:15 for a prompt 3:30 start.