A Poor Opera: In Search of Vocal Theatre (thesis project)
In her artistic research, Ema explores new methodologies for creating what she calls vocal theatre and the possible development of a theatrical format she calls poor opera (after Jerzi Grotowski’s idea of poor theatre). Her research seeks to find artistic solutions to economic problems, helping individual artists (particularly singers) express themselves in small-scale and performer-led pieces of music theatre.
She is currently at the beginning of her research, which involves laying a foundation through ethnographic interviews with artists who work in music theatre and opera, with the goal of better understanding their working terminology, preferred methodologies, perspectives on the human voice as an instrument (techniques, amplification), the singer as a performer and creator, as well as how they understand the social and economic contexts (and differences between) music theatre and opera.
Diva Lazarus
Ema developed Diva Lazarus as her Artist Diploma project at the CNSMD in Lyon. The first full version premiered in May 2024 as part of the Festival Les Fabricants at the Théâtre de la Rennaissance in Lyon. Diva Lazarus is a roughly hour-long, musical one-woman-show in which the only source of sound is the human voice – whether sung, spoken, or recorded and transformed. Ema hopes to develop the show further with an expanded team in 2025. More here.
Aoidographies
Aoidographies was displayed in March 2023 at the What’Sup student festival in Lyon. It is an installation consisting of three panels pairing a looped tapestry of vocal sounds (which the audiences experiences through headphones placed next to each image) with images created in the 3D software Blender.
Aoidographies explores synesthesia between vocal sounds and texture. Ema might use this installation to create more interactive works in the future.
