Imagine being trapped inside your own head for 22 years, listening to mental loops playing on repeat all day, without the ability to use your own voice. In composer Paola Prestini and librettist Brenda Shaughnessy’s opera “Sensorium Ex,” Jakob Jordan plays Kitsune, the central character who, with the help of custom-designed AI tools developed with NYU’s Ability Lab, is able to {…}
(Photos: Jill Steinberg) Paola Prestini (composer, librettist and orchestrator), Magos Herrera (composer, librettist and Sor Juana), and Louisa Proske (director) transformed the Met Cloisters for their world premiere processional opera, “Primero Sueño,” for a sold out audience on January 26th, 2025. OperaWire’s initial introduction to a collaboration piece by Prestini and Herrera, “Con Alma,” made this premiere feel extra exciting {…}
(Photo credit: Jill Steinberg at National Sawdust) National Sawdust’s 10th Anniversary opening season kicked off with Artistic Director/Co-Founder & composer Paola Prestini and librettist Royce Vavrek‘s foley chamber opera world premiere “Silent Light,” featuring director & scenic designer Thaddeus Strassberger and conductor Christopher Rountree. The cast includes powerhouse soprano Brittany Renee as Esther, bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch as Johan, soprano Julia {…}
VisionIntoArt has received a $600,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation. The grant will “support capacity building for the continued development and sharing methodologies of [the organization’s] creative production model.” Per an official press release, the funding will allow for the expansion of the organization’s equity-driven approach and support such projects as Paola Prestini and Brenda Shaughnessy’s “Sensorium Ex,” which centers {…}
(Photo: Jill Steinberg) “Sensorium Ex” is an opera by composer Paola Prestini and librettist/poet Brenda Shaughnessy and co-directed by choreographer Jerron Herman. It is a multi-sensory narrative woven together at the intersections of disability and artificial intelligence. “Sensorium Ex” opera will be premiering at the Common Senses Festival in Omaha for their 2025 season, and is commissioned by the Ford {…}
(Photo: Jill Steinberg) National Sawdust and The Met Opera presented “Opera Evolved: Genre Fluidity” on Thursday, February 22nd, 2024. This was the second installment of this three-part series that, according to the program, celebrates artistic convergence by investigating the intersection of innovation and tradition at National Sawdust. The evening included composer and co-founder of National Sawdust, Paola Prestini, and theater {…}
Photo: Unison Media “Con Alma” was performed at the United Nations Headquarters in NYC’s Trusteeship Chamber on March 14th, 2023. This once-in-a-lifetime experience, presented by VisionIntoArt, and Death of Classical, in partnership with Carnegie Hall, showcased the album “Con Alma” by composer Paola Prestini and Mexican singer and composer Magos Herrera. Performers from the Young People’s Chorus of NYC, led by Artistic {…}
