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In open air Andrew Burke

Dissertations & Theses @ University of Pennsylvania Available online

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Format:
Book
Thesis/Dissertation
Author/Creator:
Burke, Andrew, author.
Contributor:
University of Pennsylvania. Music., degree granting institution.
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Music.
Environmental studies.
Performing arts.
0413.
0477.
0641.
Local Subjects:
Music.
Environmental studies.
Performing arts.
0413.
0477.
0641.
Genre:
Academic theses
Physical Description:
1 online resource (62 pages)
Contained In:
Dissertations Abstracts International 87-12B
Place of Publication:
Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 2026
Language Note:
English
Summary:
In Open Air is a one-act chamber opera with libretto by Gavin Fields composed for soprano, tenor, bass clarinet, percussion, violin, cello, fixed electronics, and film. In this opera, a brother and sister attend the funeral of their mother. With no one else in attendance, other than some bugs and a mockingbird, they discuss their shared past and the differing memories of their lives together. My roles in this project are that of composer, director, editor, producer and I share the role of cinematographer with Garrett Henderson-Black. This piece makes heavy use of film, mixing rhythmic visual stimuli (akin to a light show) with the dramatic expressive possibilities of silent film. That is to say, in addition to passages of abstract color blocks and flashes of light, the film visually conveys much of the dramatic action in the opera. While the singers remain mostly motionless off to the side of the screen, the filmed versions of themselves appear on screen moving around, acting out the dialogue silently. Aside from one moment of diegetic sound towards the end of the opera, I split the portrayal of these characters between the live and the pre-recorded, between the sonic and the visual. The goal here with this diffusion or splintering of the characters' representation was to blur the boundaries between the screen and the stage and raise questions about where we might locate ourselves between the real and the imaginary, between the digital and the non-digital
Notes:
Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 87-12, Section: B.
Advisors: Diels, Natacha Committee members: Weesner, Anna; Sorey, Tyshawn
Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania 2026
Vendor supplied data
Local Notes:
School code: 0175
ISBN:
9798247974185
Access Restriction:
Restricted for use by site license

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