Opera for the Dead

Wander through an immersive music and visual experience. Opera for the Dead (祭歌) harnesses old and new technologies to explore the connection between life and death. Created by award-winning composer and Guzheng artist Mindy Meng Wang and sound technologist and composer Monica Lim, Opera for the Dead (祭歌) is inspired by Chinese mourning rituals but speaks to the common experiences of death, mourning and ancestry. This multi-artform performance combines live musicians and singers with electronic processing, ambisonic sound, 3D animation and dance. Audiences are invited to move freely through the performance space as it transforms from stage to cinema to dance floor, journeying between the real and imaginary, past and present. Opera for the Dead (祭歌) examines the many contradictions that exist in our traditions around death: the tension between spirituality and materialism, the eternal versus digital convenience, and the contrast between our experience of grief and the way it is performed. This epic new work highlights the beauty within anguish and finds humour in the macabre.