Opera Telephone
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Opera Telephone
13:44
video
with commentary by Nina Katchadourian and Sandra Skurvida
Opera Telephone is a video artwork premised on the rules of the children’s game, “Telephone.” In the game, a secret message is discretely whispered from person to person, the message and its meaning morphing at each turn. In Opera Telephone, the initial message is an aria from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, performed by soprano Sarah Hershman. Among the other 7 participants in the work, there is 1 school teacher, 1 landlady, 1 restauranteur, 2 artists, 1 new father and 1 preacher’s wife, none of whom have had professional vocal training. As they attempt to sing the aria, they reinvent its meaning.
