A Drone Opera

Background A Drone Opera is a project developed by Matthew Sleeth that explores the rapidly developing technology of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), colloquially known as drones, and their social and cultural impact. The project features an experimental multimedia performance including drones, their pilots and opera singers, combined with a sound score, laser light design and moving image. A Drone Opera is funded by the Australia Council for the Arts and the City of Melbourne and is produced by Experimenta - Australia's preeminent media arts organisation. It was reviewed by many media organisations including ABC's The Mix, Sydney Morning Herald, and Realtime Arts. Contribution A Drone Opera contributed a new way of accessing drone technology by placing drone technology within a sophisticated performance setting. My contribution was the development of a sound design that wove the mechanical noise of flying drones with the performances of three opera singers. The relationship between mechanical noise, electronic and environmental sound and the sylised vocalisations of opera provided a unique sonic undercurrent to support the dramatic visual element of the presentation. In many ways it is a reimaging of the work of the Futurists from the early 20th century with their embracement of noise and technology within performance settings such as concert halls and theatre. Luigi Russolo's manifesto 'The Art of Noises' was central to the development of the sound design. Significance A Drone Opera was supported by numerous funding agencies including the Australia Council for the Arts, City of Melbourne and Arts House. A Drone Opera was a major project for Experimenta Media Arts incorporated who invested significant resources into the development, production and presentation of the project. It was presented over four sold out evenings to an audience of around 600 people. A Drone Opera sought to shift audience knowledge of drones from political abstraction into embodied experience in time and space.