ENG is an experimental opera for spoken voices and electronics that is currently in development. Structured around the newscast format, it critically examines the American media’s ‘voice of authority’ in relation to the Middle East. The familiar rhythms and rhetoric of newscaster-speak are musicalized and mangled, redirected and held accountable for its role in sanctifying ongoing U.S. imperialism and military aggression towards the Arab world. Instead of singing in a traditional lyrical-melodic style, the news anchors musicalize the distinctive speech patterns we have come to recognize from network news programs, the super-confident all-knowing voice of ‘objective’ information delivery.
Here is an excerpt from an shorter 30-minute version, originally presented by REDCAT Los Angeles, during the 2022 NOW Festival. It features two long-time collaborators of mine (Christina Campanella and John Rose). Although this shorter version was presented in front of an audience, it was not a premiere as the full length work will be over an hour long, with more performers and more developed visual staging.
LA Dance Chronicle had a good description of the work in this review.