Book Tickets
Doing a bit of fictional history can be a lot of fun, that both keeps us up to date and helps us connect with the past. Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig in 1813. Today we want to put him into the 21st century and imagine what his art would be like with the technologies and possibilities we have now.
First we have to remember some important things about his work. Opera was his favourite genre and he was extremely careful with all the details. He is considered the creator of so-called “Total Art“. He not only wrote the music, but he also intervened with the libretto and in the selection of stories. He was also interested in managing the scenery, the costumes and to top it off… the theatre itself. Incredibly Wagner wanted to have a special theatre where he could show his operas and where the public could focus on what was happening on stage. He commissioned the construction of the famous Bayreuth Theater with detailed instructions of what the stalls would be like, how the seats were distributed, what the pit for the orchestra would be like and many more curiosities.
The stories of his operas were really different from what was generally being done at the time, they had complex plots, with many characters, mixing nature with fantasy. Wow, that reminds us of a lot of current works.And this is where by letting our imagination run wild, we revive Richard Wagner at the age of 50. He lands in Barcelona and we show him how the world has changed in the year 2023. Apart from the obvious shock, he would be amazed with all the technological options for staging his ideas. Surely, he would want to provide a fully-fledged immersive experience.
The stories
One of the first things Wagner might do on his visit to 2023 is visit a bookstore or library and possibly pick up a Tolkien novel or watch a Game of Thrones DVD. He would raise his hands in astonishment when he saw the many similarities these works have with his own stories and he would surely want to meet the authors. With Tolkien it is a bit complicated, since he died in 1973, but with the writers of Game of Thrones, he could start some interesting conversations. Wagner would realise that the theme that he proposed 2 centuries ago currently has many followers and as he plans to write another opera to reach all these fans, he is convinced that his operas are ideal for them.
Wagner discovers Barcelona
A few days after landing in Barcelona, tweets began to spread that a certain Richard Wagner hads been seen in the city and the big musical institutions have organised an event to meet him, offering him their concert halls. Wagner, very grateful, tells them that he first wants to see the city which, although being tempted to visit it during his lifetime, he never managed to do. He had corresponded with some young people from Barcelona who wanted to name him honorary president of the Wagner Society. So a tour of the centre of Barcelona is organised. One of the stops to take in some Catalan gastronomy is the Els Quatre Gats restaurant. There they tell him that years ago, a group of fans of his work founded the Wagnerian Association and thanks to all their activities, the number of Wagnerians in Barcelona began to grow, even becoming the first city in the world (outside Bayreuth) where Parsifal premiered. Wagner asks if this association continues to this day, and they tell him of the current Wagner Club that he decides to go to meet.
Receiving stimuli
During the following months, Wagner absorbs all the existing novelties. He discovers inventions such as mobile phones, the world of cinema, televisions and platform series. He knows how stories are consumed. He holds an ebook in his hands for the first time, he writes texts from a computer. His head feels like exploding at every step, but he discovers that he is much more productive when it comes to capturing his ideas, both in stories and in music.
Now, to write the musical score, he doesn’t need a piece of paper. He can do it with a computer program and he can also listen to how his ideas sound instantly. If he needs inspiration and wants to know what the composers after him did, he doesn’t need an orchestra to hear the music. Having a huge music database might overwhelm him more than satisfy his curiosity.
Everything is new to him, even the way stories are discovered along with legends and myths. He discovers the Libraries and all their resources, public access archives and museums. Not to mention modern transport to go and meet people. Processes are simplified and everything goes at a different speed. He does not have to send a letter to establish a conversation with his distant contacts. In real time, he can speak to and even see someone far away.
While he starts up his machinery to write a new story and put the music to it, he decides to also investigate the material issue of the staging. The possibilities are endless. From new materials, lighter, more resistant and easier to move, to elements that almost take on a life of their own. Platforms that can be moved and moved around the stage. Lights that can follow computer patterns to create other effects… and that’s when Wagner innovates again, centuries later and finally he has in mind what the staging of his new opera will be like.
Re-create making history
Since the Liceu is in the process of searching for ideas to build the new Liceu Mar, Wagner proposes a plan. In this way, once again, the theatre is built to suit him. This time it will be different on a technological level, but retaining the same essence, to make the audience feel inside the story. The space will have the seats in a row, ensuring the same view for all, but this time the seats will be much more comfortable. Possibly folding seats with immersive movement. At certain moments of the opera, the public will put on augmented reality glasses and the seats will move to generate a totally realistic sensation. The orchestra will be located in the pit, but will add amplified effects to boost the sound throughout the room. And the singers, sometimes sing not only from the stage and get closer to the public.
Finally, Wagner becomes obsessed with adding some more meaning. He uses a device that releases aromas in each of the scenes. Thus, when the story takes place in a forest, the audience smell wet trees and fog. When the plot moves to a castle, they could sense the aroma of objects and fabrics. And so his idea of Leitmotiv, to associate a short melody with each character or object, is transferred to the olfactory world. He attributes a characteristic aroma to each role and when it appears or when people talk about it, the public feel it not only inthe music, but also with their sense of smell.
When you imagine it, more culture shocks occur to you, it can be unlimited, making historical fiction from time travel. We remain open to more unknowns.
How would Wagner face the world of Artificial Intelligence? When he discovers music composition apps, will he consider using them? Will AI ever be complex enough to write interesting music? Could he use it as a base to continue creating? We leave this story for another time.
