Commission to Bára Gísladóttir

A digital labyrinth: Tens of thousands of digital posts are made around the world every second. Posts are put up, Tweets are written, videos are uploaded. Two thirds of the global population regularly use social media, and almost half use them every day. A flow of information crashes against our brains, forcing us to make decisions on unrestricted paths through the ever-expanding digital jungle. We fluctuate between two extremes as this happens: touching animal videos alongside images of accidents, meal recipes and lifehacks followed by acts of violence. This heterogenous crossfire in the endless feed of content being permanently shoved into our faces forms a riptide that the recipient can scarcely escape.

To counteract this powerlessness to an extent, Icelandic composer Bára Gísladóttir and French author and director Joris Lacoste search for meaning in this multidimensional chaos with Good Vibes Only. This is the first full-length opera for the winner of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation’s 2024 Composer Prize, celebrated for her dark yet sensitive style that blends influences from noise, metal and classical tradition. Multi-talented artist Lacoste, who has garnered attention with his collage-like, documentary theater pieces, is making his operatic debut.

In their collaborative creation, the two explore formal structures and human behavior that emerge from the manifold interplay within the virtually limitless digital realm. The data world is reimagined as a stage. By rearranging real-world posts, a gigantic spectrum of cognitive and emotional expressions about our world is revealed. Good Vibes Only lets the audience experience the sheer breadth of notifications in the data flow of the digital ether in the form of trans-medial musical theatre. In a highly technological spatial concept, diverse vocal styles combine with orchestral sounds and sophisticated electronics to create a panopticon of our digital age.

The commission to Bára Gísladóttir for the Deutsche Oper Berlin is made possible by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further information:
deutscheoperberlin.de

Dates

January 22, 27, & 31, 2027
February 6 & 12, 2027
Deutsche Oper Berlin