Tesla (opera)
Encyclopedia
Tesla - Lightning in His Hand is a large-scale opera about Serbian American scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla
(1856 - 1943), composed by Tasmanian (Australian) composer Constantine Koukias
(1965-), with libretto by Marianne Fisher.
The full opera was produced in 2003 by IHOS Music Theatre and Opera
, described at the time by Vincent Plush of Gramophone magazine as having created "a quiet operatic revolution in Hobart since its formation in 1990". There was nothing quiet, however, about the Tesla coil
that was among the work's most notable props at its premiere. A warning was issued in the program to audience members who might be wearing "pace-makers, hearing aides, or any form of electric, magnetic, mechanical or metallic implant or prosthetic device".
Tesla was one of the least recognised scientific pioneers in history, though his inventions formed the basis of modern industry. His developments in energy, such as the AC current, the polyphase motor and the wireless, catapulted the world into the automotive age. The opera follows the repeated reversals of fortunes of this charismatic and eccentric man who was, for a time, the darling of the New York set. Throughout his career he was variously championed and cheated by his shrewder peers and rivals, most memorably Thomas Edison
and George Westinghouse
. As a scientist Tesla was controversial; as a businessman he was a dismal failure. In Tesla - Lightning in His Hand, "the electrical engineer's life and the intensity of his research is conveyed by the sense of escalating drama through the production".
Tesla - Lightning in His Hand was originally commissioned by the West Australian Opera
and developed over three years through two staged "works in development". Creator and original Artistic Director of Tasmania's 10 Days on the Island
Festival, Robyn Archer
, commissioned the full opera to open the festival in 2003. In keeping with audience expectations of IHOS, built up through the innovation and spectacle of productions such as Days and Nights with Christ
and To Traverse Water
, the work, sponsored by the John Holland Group, was staged in a massive shed on Hobart's docks, where the Tesla coils put on a "spectacular display of electron sparks". Reviewing the production for the Melbourne Age, David Lander described it as "gorgeous image-based performance art with a fascinating, brittle score in which dilemmas are ignored in favour of sensuality".
The two-hour work, sung in English, is in two parts and features a bass, a tenor, a bass-baritone, two sopranos, seven musicians (including a theremin
player) and a large male choir. Throughout Part 1, "the baritone and bass voices rise up in indecipherable incantations which weave through the plaintive and lyrical strains of an oboe". Also audible are clattering typewriters, pigeons (in later life Tesla was deeply affected by the death of a specific white pigeon), Morse code and fragments of Antonín Dvořák
's New World Symphony.
Tesla was featured on ABC Classic FM
's New Music Australia program and has been cited as far afield as Croatia, where it was noted in a tourist board tribute to the scientist and Croatian Post's web page detailing a stamp to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the inventor's birth.
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
(1856 - 1943), composed by Tasmanian (Australian) composer Constantine Koukias
Constantine Koukias
Constantine Koukias is a Greek-Australian composer and flautist.He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of IHOS Music Theatre and Opera, based in Hobart, Tasmania. He is well known for his innovative work in contemporary opera and other forms...
(1965-), with libretto by Marianne Fisher.
The full opera was produced in 2003 by IHOS Music Theatre and Opera
IHOS Music Theatre and Opera
IHOS Music Theatre and Opera is a Tasmanian opera company was established in Hobart in 1990, by composer and artistic director Constantine Koukias, and production director Werner Ihlenfeld to create original music-theatre and opera works.-Major repertoire:...
, described at the time by Vincent Plush of Gramophone magazine as having created "a quiet operatic revolution in Hobart since its formation in 1990". There was nothing quiet, however, about the Tesla coil
Tesla coil
A Tesla coil is a type of resonant transformer circuit invented by Nikola Tesla around 1891. It is used to produce high voltage, low current, high frequency alternating current electricity. Tesla coils produce higher current than the other source of high voltage discharges, electrostatic machines...
that was among the work's most notable props at its premiere. A warning was issued in the program to audience members who might be wearing "pace-makers, hearing aides, or any form of electric, magnetic, mechanical or metallic implant or prosthetic device".
Tesla was one of the least recognised scientific pioneers in history, though his inventions formed the basis of modern industry. His developments in energy, such as the AC current, the polyphase motor and the wireless, catapulted the world into the automotive age. The opera follows the repeated reversals of fortunes of this charismatic and eccentric man who was, for a time, the darling of the New York set. Throughout his career he was variously championed and cheated by his shrewder peers and rivals, most memorably Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
and George Westinghouse
George Westinghouse
George Westinghouse, Jr was an American entrepreneur and engineer who invented the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry. Westinghouse was one of Thomas Edison's main rivals in the early implementation of the American electricity system...
. As a scientist Tesla was controversial; as a businessman he was a dismal failure. In Tesla - Lightning in His Hand, "the electrical engineer's life and the intensity of his research is conveyed by the sense of escalating drama through the production".
Tesla - Lightning in His Hand was originally commissioned by the West Australian Opera
West Australian Opera
West Australian Opera is the principal opera company of Western Australia and is based at His Majesty's Theatre in Perth.The company formed in 1967 and works in close association with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. As of 2008, the Chairman is Erich Fraunschiel and Artistic Director is...
and developed over three years through two staged "works in development". Creator and original Artistic Director of Tasmania's 10 Days on the Island
10 Days on the Island
Ten Days on the Island is Tasmania’s state-wide biennial multi art-form festival. A unique event in Australia, Ten Days is a celebration of culture in Tasmania. With almost 250 events in 99 venues in over 50 locations, 195,000 Tasmanians and visitors took part in the 2009 event.Ten Days was the...
Festival, Robyn Archer
Robyn Archer
Robyn Archer AO CdOAL is an Australian singer, writer, stage and director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally.-Life:Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australia...
, commissioned the full opera to open the festival in 2003. In keeping with audience expectations of IHOS, built up through the innovation and spectacle of productions such as Days and Nights with Christ
Days and Nights with Christ
Days and Nights with Christ is the first of five full-scale operas by the Australian composer Constantine Koukias , and was the first opera / music theatre production by IHOS Experimental Theatre Troupe . It premiered at Hobart’s Salamanca Arts Festival in 1990 and two years later was a highlight...
and To Traverse Water
To Traverse Water
To Traverse Water is an opera by Tasmanian composer Constantine Koukias that depicts a young Greek woman's departure for Australia and her settlement there...
, the work, sponsored by the John Holland Group, was staged in a massive shed on Hobart's docks, where the Tesla coils put on a "spectacular display of electron sparks". Reviewing the production for the Melbourne Age, David Lander described it as "gorgeous image-based performance art with a fascinating, brittle score in which dilemmas are ignored in favour of sensuality".
The two-hour work, sung in English, is in two parts and features a bass, a tenor, a bass-baritone, two sopranos, seven musicians (including a theremin
Theremin
The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
player) and a large male choir. Throughout Part 1, "the baritone and bass voices rise up in indecipherable incantations which weave through the plaintive and lyrical strains of an oboe". Also audible are clattering typewriters, pigeons (in later life Tesla was deeply affected by the death of a specific white pigeon), Morse code and fragments of Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
's New World Symphony.
Tesla was featured on ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM is a classical music radio station available in Australia, and internationally online. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" , before adopting its current name...
's New Music Australia program and has been cited as far afield as Croatia, where it was noted in a tourist board tribute to the scientist and Croatian Post's web page detailing a stamp to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the inventor's birth.
2003 Production Credits
- Production Director: Werner Ihlenfeld
- Production Designer: Maria Kunda
- Artist in Light: Hugh McSpedden