On October 1, 2015, Deus Ex Machina, a new graphic novel steampunk opera by Robert J. Bradshaw will be released worldwide.
This electroacoustic work features soprano, Gillian Hurst (Rockport), baritone Gary Wood (Salem State University) and tenor Brendan Buckley (Boston). Adding to the uniqueness of the project, the opera is accompanied by brass quintet, performed by internationally acclaimed Bala Brass including trumpeter James Ackley (University of South Carolina), Seelan Manickam (Keene State College), Kristen Sienkiewicz (Austin Peay State University), Robert Hoveland (Plymouth Philharmonic), and master tubist John Bottomley (University of Massachusetts Amherst). Completing the star-studded artistic team, comprised of performers from around the nation and world, is virtuoso percussionist Megan Arns (University of Missouri) performing on Timpani.
The CD was recorded in historic Cabout Cinema in Beverly, Massachusetts — the perfect place to record a post-victorian, steampunk opera. Heard from the stage, the Cabot offered beautiful sound for the recording and a gorgeous vintage space to help the performers get into character for the sessions.
“In a fascinating twist, the entire opera is performed to the main character’s clockwork heartbeat and the sounds of steam engines (all synced with the music),” Bradshaw explains. “It was important that every aspect of this project be choreographed as the soundscape (sounds of the world where the opera exists) are ever present until the tragic demise of the main character. It is the absence of sound that is the most climactic moment of the work, a departure from traditional compositional practice. Much like a reader’s imagination when reading a book, or the visual background of a movie, or sets on stage, this unique project transports the listener through sound and when that sound stops, it is very dramatic!”
In addition to the release of this recording, which includes sophisticated packaging with beautiful photography, extensive biographical information, and libretto booklets, Deus Ex Machina was recently performed in New York City (August 2015).
For more information, please visit http://www.capeannopera.org.