Work
To My Distant Love
Maker On Site Opera · Work date 2020-06-18 · Medium telephone · Role work
Description
At a time when we are all kept apart from those we hold dear, Beethoven’s song cycle, An die ferne Geliebte (To the Distant Beloved), set to Jeitteles’ aching poetry, resonates profoundly with its lamentations of separation and hopes of reunion. The desire to call out to a loved one from afar speaks directly to the current climate of social-distancing and uncertainty about the future. This new immersive opera experience invites you to be “the distant love” for a one-on-one performance featuring a live singer (you choose soprano or baritone) and pianist over the phone – no need to download any additional app or platform. The “site” for this performance will be yours to decide as your beloved calls you by phone to express their longing and joy to you, their distant love. Where will you take such an intimate phone call? A walk through the park? A cozy chair by a window? The immersive exper
Source. No published description found.
Anatomy
Thirteen criteria after Lauren R. Beck. Each carries a source grade: M maker-confirmed, P published, F first-hand, I inferred by the compiler, ? not yet established. Definitions are on the anatomy page.
- Participants listen through headphonesnoI
A one-to-one phone call with “no need to download any additional app or platform”; no headphones are asked for.
- Participants move through space as part of the worknoI
The listing offers a walk in the park or “a cozy chair by a window” as equally valid, so relocation is optional rather than required.
- Audio technology is necessaryyesP
A live singer and pianist perform to the participant over the phone, so removing the phone ends the performance.
- Site-, situation- or language-specificOptionalP
“The ‘site’ for this performance will be yours to decide” — place is offered and foregrounded but not required.
- Engages with the history of a sitenoI
Content is Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte and Jeitteles’ poetry, not documented events of a real place.
- Created for an urban environmentnoI
The call reaches wherever the participant is; no city infrastructure is presupposed.
- Created as an artwork other than theateryesI
The maker frames it as an opera/song-cycle performance by a company of singers and a pianist, a musical rather than theatrical discipline.
- Intended to be understood as theateryesP
Described as an “immersive opera experience” and a “one-on-one performance.”
- Accidental real-world sights and sounds are importantunknown?
The listing invites the participant to choose a setting but never says what happens around them feeds the piece.
Did you experience this? Tell us - Spectator must participateunknown?
The participant is cast as “the distant love” and picks soprano or baritone at booking, but whether action during the call is required is not stated.
Did you experience this? Tell us - Has live performers other than the participantsyesP
“A one-on-one performance featuring a live singer…and pianist over the phone.”
- Involves game playnoI
A song cycle with no rules, objective or resolution state.
- Uses props other than the listening deviceunknown?
Nothing beyond the phone is mentioned, and silence about materials is not evidence they are absent.
Did you experience this? Tell us
3 of thirteen are still unknown for this work. If you experienced it, you can settle them in a minute.