Rūta Vitkauskaitė

‘Walking Opera’ is a site-specific project that aims to bring new opera to the streets of local areas through the participation of local communities in the creative process via Voice Exploration Workshops and a Walking Opera Soundwalk.

During the Soundwalk performance, rather than sitting in the comfortable opera house chairs, the audience are given portable headphones and are invited for a walk around their local area, to perceive their familiar visual surroundings (architecture, landscapes, statues, streets) in a new way. The story of the opera unfolds as the statues, plants and objects of the area come to life through arias, recitatives, and vocal choirs created by the communities during the workshops. The audience encounters elements of surprise, like entering private spaces (homes) or having a drink in a bar/cafe. Live characters may appear to involve the audience into their swirl of dance, hand them a brush to paint, or invite them to contribute their very own voice for the final scene of the opera. This interactive sound-walk is open to listeners of any age and is very much family friendly.

The making of a Walking Opera piece involves a series of Voice Exploration Workshops with local community members from the area the opera is to be presented in. The workshops are led by composer Rūta Vitkauskaitė, and one professional opera singer, always aiming to invite local professional musicians.

Participants learn to understand and explore their voices, share stories of their local area, and together create vocal compositions which will later be used in the Sound-walk. The Voice Exploration Workshops are designed to create an environment where the audience can experience a new opera ‘from within’ – starting with new opera vocal techniques, and finishing with the creation of a contemporary opera scene together.

The new opera soundtrack which people hear during the Soundwalk integrates original compositions for voice and instruments by Rūta, audio material from the Voice Exploration Workshops, local music, as well as improvised sections by collaborating professional musicians and opera singers.