Press-Informations:

The newest oevre of composer Eberhard Schoener is not just something he wants to present on the Internet - this "Virtopera" is designed to actually happen, develop and come into being on the Internet. What the composer has in mind is to apply Internet options and possibilities to the full extent of their availability, and to involve the user in the very gestation of the Opera.

The Opera's protagonist, Cold Genius, is a virtual Internet figure, equipped with heaps of information indigenous to the medium, yet unable to attach any meaning or value to it. Pushed by inner urges (strange and inexplicable to him) to contact the real world, he is driven by a vague sense that order will prevail and something will be revealed to him, bringing about cathartic relief from the chaotic state he is in.

The plan is to have users from all over the world over a period of several months (and in four languages) experience the Opera on the Internet and participate in its shape and form if they choose to, thereby, in essence, formulating its gestation.

Cold Genius, the Opera's central figure, is given opportunity to perform in Live-Events (on the Internet) in Italy, Brazil, India and Germany (Mantua/Manaus/Kalkutta/Cologne), where he meets musicians and artists who are engaged in concert performances with him, where he is introduced to the secrets of the soul.

The first Live-Show is scheduled to take place in the Palazzo Te in Mantova (Italy), from where it is broadcast live on the Internet on October 8, 2000 (9 p.m. local time). Excepts of all four Live-Events will be available as parts of the Virtopera on the Internet.

Via Internet, the user is becoming an active part of the creative process and of the composition. A Forum is provided, which serves as platform for discussions on how the action and the plot should best be deployed and developed. The Chat Room provides a place for the user to advise the protagonist Cold Genius. Various user contributions will be assembled in form of a Renga (a chain-poem). User suggestions and musical ideas can be appropriated and become part of the actual Virtopera.

During the last Live-Event in Cologne to which all artists are invited, it will be apparent whether the encounters with the cultural myths of humans have the power to fulfill the dreams and longings of Cold Genius. Also at this event, those users who distinguished themselves by their active involvement in the gestation of Virtopera, will be presented with an award.

In this way, by early next year this network-opera-in-progress, a collaboration between Eberhard Schoener and users from all over the world, will have come into being.

Press Contact:

Ines Fischelmayer:
e-mail-address: if@ines-fischelmayer.com

Mobil: +49 (172) 821 8020

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