About the work

The AH! opera no-opera is a language/theatrical/musical soundswordsoundsworld experience for an interactive audience of Creative Engagers inspired by the spirit of the Buddhist Diamond Sutra. Composer-performer David Rosenboom and poet-writer Martine Bellen developed an interactive opera generator in the shape of a Mandala (Wheel of Life) with 13 interlinking, hyperlinking stories, and their movable parts and pathways

The first public performance versions of AH! opera no-opera were presented to enthusiastic, sold-out audiences at REDCAT in Los Angeles on September 16, 17, and 18, 2009, with staging by director Travis Preston, scenic design by Christopher Barreca, video design by Jeremiah Thies, choreography by Mira Kingsley, lighting design by Laura Mroczkowdki, and a host of other contributing artists. Garnering critical acclaim and widespread recognition in the media, these performances were realized with the generous support of the Transatlantic Arts Consortium and the Evelyn Sharp Foundation as part of A Counterpoint of Tolerance project.

Ten composer/performers from around the world were brought together to investigate—through musical collaboration—human conditions in the new era of globalization. These performances of AH! were the blooming implications of that peaceful illumination! The collaborating composer-performers were Iván Caramés Bohigas (Spain), Michael-Thomas Foumai (US-Hawaii), Alex Kotch (US-North Carolina), Claudio Maldonado (Argentina-Patagonia), Vedran Mehinovic (Bosnia), Natalie Oram (UK), Doo Jin Park (Korea), Jerónimo (Jxel) Rachenberg (Mexico), Diana Syrse Valdés Rosado (Mexico), and Xiaolang Zhou (China).

Ten 3-D sound-speaker pods, a set of 10 laser beams shining upward from a piano and responding to hand movements, 12 more beaming from a diamond tetrahedron, an interactive multi-touch table, an unusual array of instruments, a musical robot, music makers-speakers-singers-actors-movers-theater makers, and more than 13 of the world’s languages were united to comprise the opera no-opera AH!

AH! is ongoing! The many dimensions of AH! continue to evolve through various media, documentation, presentations about the processes of AH!, and more performances anticipated in the future. Creative Engagers are invited to continue being a part of the AH! experience. Watch videos, listen to sounds and view webcasts gathered from the REDCAT performances. Navigate the website and interact, immerse, generate words-sounds! Return often. Watch for new developments and news about future realizations of AH! Come together with wordsoundwords in no harm harmony illuminating the power of sounds-words to unite the world as we listen, sing, create together.

My musical contribution

I participated in this project from June 2008 to Septembrr 2009. We met Dadid, Martine and the Counterpoint of Tolerance composer- performers at Idyllwild California in 2008, ehre we spent a month working on the first ideas and sketches. Then each of us returned to our respective places where we kept developing Ah, while communicating via internet.

On 2009, a month prior to the premiere at REDCAT (Walt Disney Concert hall) we reunited again to begin the rehearsals at Calarts. A week before the premiere we moved to the REDCAT where we keep the rehearsals untild the premiere on September 16th.

Im the author of

  • Passengers Parassites coauthored with Michael Foumai
  • Procession through the valley of Faith

My other contributions

Before being selected by TAC, I spent several years developing my own software projects in order to acomplish what I needed to my own compositions. In this context I tweaked some of my tools I spetially developed other. These tools are:

  • ICara
  • Woah
  • FaMAh
  • and also made a little software poetry (sorry it only runs in mac)

The experience

I have performed and organized international seminars but Ah! production was the greatest of all I was into up until now. That said, I felt it was so musically so huge that it exceed the time and resources at that time.

The music

I thouth it then and still think it now, this music is ahead in time. Ah! is a multicultural work, that reflects a thouthnad of mirrors. There are so beautiful and contrasting musical moments!

Sincrony grows as entities gathers…

##Creators

DAVID ROSENBOOM MARTINE BELLEN

A Counterpoint of Tolerance Composers IVÁN CARMÉS BOIGAS (Spain)

MICHAEL-THOMAS FOUMAI (U.S.-Hawaii)

ALEX KOTCH (U.S.-North Carolina)

CLAUDIO (XUNORUS) MALDONADO (Argentina-Patagonia)

VEDRAN MEHINOVIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

NATALIE ORAM (UK)

DOO JIN PARK (Korea)

JERÓNIMO (JXEL) RAJCHENBERG (Mexico)

DIANA SYRSE VALDÉS ROSADO (Mexico

XIAOLIANG ZHOU (China)

Theatrical Team TRAVIS PRESTON - DIRECTOR

CHRISTOPHER BARRECA - SCENIC DESIGN

MIRA KINGSLEY - CHOREOGAPHER AND PERFORMER

LAURA MROCZKOWSKI - LIGHTING DESIGNER

JEREMIAH THIES - VIDEO DESIGNER

JENNIFER KOBLOSKY - STAGE MANAGER

Interactive Media Team AJAY KAPUR - DIRECTOR

DIMITRI DIAKOPOULOS - INTERACTIVE MEDIA DESIGNER

LESLIE FAIRMAN - AUDIO HARDWARE DESIGNER

JORDAN HOCHENBAUM - MULTI-TOUCH DESIGNER

JIM MURPHY - AUDIO HARDWARE DESIGNER

OWEN VALLIS - MULTI-TOUCH DESIGNER

MEASON WILEY - AUDIO HARDWARE DESIGNER

Additional Featured Performers BEN SHEPHERD - BASSIST

TIM CARR - DRUM SET

BRAD CULVER - ACTOR

DANA GOURRIER - ACTOR

ROBIN WILSON - DANCER