lexia
an AI opera
Jan 11th, 2025 @ Phoenix Theatre * Indianapolis
Feb 14th, 2025 @ Roulette * Brooklyn
lexia
An AI Opera
On the brink of a superstorm of cataclysmic force never seen before in human history, a woman uncovers a future path for our species via an extraordinary transformation of the human—into birds. An opera by Scott Deal for voice, chamber musicians, and music AI processes, which explores the outermost limits of what makes us human in an age of both ecological disaster and autonomous machines.
Created and Composed by Scott Deal
Libretto and direction by Kat Mustatea
Soprano: Tony Arnold
Musicians: Scott Deal, Stuart Gerber, Molly Barth, Eric Mandat, Sean Dowgray
Video Art: Tanya Stolpovskaya
AI Programming: Jason Palamara
Concert versions at Roulette, Brooklyn and Phoenix Theatre, Indianapolis in January and February 2025
tickets
January 11th, 2025 @ 7:00 pm
THE PHOENIX THEATRE
Indianapolis, IN
February 14th, 2025 @ 7:30 pm
ROULETTE
Brooklyn, NY
story
On the eve of a massive superstorm in AD 2225, the planet has heated up, rendering much of the world unlivable. In what is left of America, political and social upheavals have altered daily life, and power is concentrated in the hands of a few, known as The Committee, who use a networked AI device named The Lung to help rule the country while building data banks to write history’s collective memory. Lexia is searching for her son, lost to her years ago, but in the process of engaging The Lung, she comes to bear witness to an extraordinary transformation underway for humanity: a spontaneous mutation that is causing human babies to be born with the physical characteristics of birds
AI INSTRUMENTATION
Lexia features the use of AVATAR, a ground-breaking artificial intelligence software application developed by IU Indianapolis—Herron School of Art and Design professors Jason Palamara and Scott Deal. AVATAR performs music based on input from composers and musical improvisors by drawing information from its data bank or by listening and reacting to improvising musicians while they perform onstage before a live audience. AVATAR infuses the music of Lexia with a unique sonic character that evokes the futuristic atmosphere of the opera.
ARTISTS
Visionary composer, performer, and producer Scott Deal explores new pathways of musical expression. Hailed as “a riveting performer” who “exhibits phenomenal virtuosity”, Deal has performed and recorded throughout the world, including being featured in the soundtrack of the Academy Award winning movie "The Revenant". His award-winning climate opera "Auksalaq" was praised as "an important realization for today’s society". Deal is a Professor in the Herron School of Art and Design at Indiana University Indianapolis.
Kat Mustatea is a transmedia playwright whose language and performance works enlist absurdity, hybridity, and the computational uncanny to dig deeply into what it means to be human. Her AI - multimedia book Voidopolis was released by MIT Press in 2023 to critical acclaim.
Celebrated as a “luminary in the world of chamber music and art song” (Huffington Post), Tony Arnold is internationally acclaimed as a leading proponent of contemporary music in concert and recording as a “convincing, mesmerizing soprano” (Los Angeles Times) who “has a broader gift for conveying the poetry and nuance behind outwardly daunting contemporary scores” (Boston Globe).
Lexia is sponsored in part by the Indiana University Presidential Arts and Humanties Fellowship, and the Tavel Arts and Technology Research Center at Indiana University Indianapolis. Media partners:
