A First in Theater: Robots Performing Opera

Tod Machover, who has been called America’s most wired composer, is poised to transform your theater experience forever. His new opera “Death and the Powers,” will be unveiled on September 24th in Monaco, and is the first opera to have actors that are robots, or as he calls them OperaBots.

According to PopSci: “The opera takes place sometime in the future, when no humans remain — only robots. Former poet laureate Robert Pinsky wrote the libretto, which tells the story of an inventor named Simon Powers. Powers builds “The System” to preserve his legacy, allowing him to download his memories and personality into the built environment. His personage is then expressed through robots, giant blinking bookcases and a musical chandelier made of Teflon, which his wife plays like a harp.”

Check out the amazing video in which Machover describes his vision and his play. We’re inspired and excited to catch the production.

Machover is a highly respected composer. He is also known for his use of technology to increase the virtuosity of music, notably through the creation of Hyperinstruments that have been used by Peter Gabriel, Prince and Yo-Yo Ma. You can watch his BigThink interview in which he speaks about his innovations and vision.

Ayesha and Parag Khanna explore human-technology co-evolution and its implications for society, business and politics at The Hybrid Reality Institute.