Actress to premiere new opera entitled Actress x Stockhausen Sin {x} II, inspired by love and Stockhausenian cloud debates

Normally when the question “what is love?” enters the millennial brain, immature flashbacks of Will Ferrell head-bobbing naturally take over in lieu of a deeper or more intellectual train of thought. But most interviews attest to Actress (a.k.a. Darren Cunningham) having a brain that’s seemingly immune to this kind of impulse — which might explain the creative direction that he’s clearly taking with the aforementioned question.

First, influential German composer Karl Stockhausen created the opera Mittwoch aus Licht, in which the first scene, entitled Welt-Parlament, entailed the “World Parliament” having a debate literally above the clouds about the nature of love. Stockhausen was reportedly the first classical composer that Cunningham explored parallel to his highly-praised exploits in electronic music; and now, the London-based artist is apparently bringing things full-circle. (Although, come on: who’s really surprised by an Actress re-work of an opera?)

Actress x Stockhausen Sin {x} II is set to debut May 14 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, and according to Cunningham, it’s both an intro to Stockhausen and a reflection on the current political climate vis-à-vis Welt-Parlament. This new opera features contributions from pianist Vanessa Benelli Mosell, the Netherlands Chamber Choir, and conductor Robert Ames. In addition, an AI project called Young Paint (developed by Dr. Louis Busby) apparently has a role that remains semi-mysterious. Recordings of current MPs are incorporated, Actress is the mind behind the project, and Southbank Centre and Holland Festival helped with the financing

What is loooooove? Baby, don’t…no, wait! Don’t click away! Here’s a preview vid:

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