Scene 10e: "The End or The Birth of a New Age" from The Tale by Åsa & Carl Unander-Scharin

Описание: Anna Larsson (Computa), KING and QUEEN perform in the The Tale of the Great Computing Machine.

Computa:
We made a perfect team.

But... speculating about the future is a very difficult business.

No decision has been announced yet, and no one knows when it will come.

We can only make vague guesses.

Cogito. Ergo. Sum.


--
The Tale of the Great Computing Machine - premiered on December 1st 2022, the day after the launch of Chat GPT - is the opera created by Åsa Unander-Scharin and Carl Unander-Scharin, based on Hannes Alfvén’s visionary 1966 book. The opera is an immersive gesamtkunstwerk set in KTH’s underground Reactor Hall R1 - incorporating two dancing robots, five singers, five instrumentalists as well as the Opera Mecatronica technologies "The Charged Room", "The Vocal Chorder", "Listening Painters", and "Gestural Obbligato".

The production transforms Alfvén’s prophetic story — in which humanity becomes a brief evolutionary step toward the rise of the all-knowing machine Computa — into a world of music, dance, robotics, and interactive technology.

Premiering in December 2022, the opera received outstanding attention: seventeen completely sold-out performances and enthusiastic reviews from major Swedish newspapers. Critics praised its bold fusion of art, science, and technology, and highlighted how Alfvén’s 1966 ideas resonate strongly in today’s AI-shaped world.

Authors
Composer Carl Unander-Scharin
Libretto Åsa Unander-Scharin & Carl Unander-Scharin in collaboration with Nils Spangenberg; built on a book by Hannes Alfvén from 1966

Performers
Computa (alto) Anna Larsson (pre-recorded voice from the future)
Argon (dancer) Arina Trostyanetskaya
Hydrogenii (soprano) Elísabet Eínarsdottir
Oxygeni (mezzo) Linnea Andreassen
Nitritio (baritone) Jakob Högström
Carbon (bass) John Erik Eleby

Musicans
Violin Rebecka Karlsson
Recorders Kerstin Frödin
Lirone & Bass Viola da Gamba Nora Roll
Bass Trombone & Contra Bass Trombone Lars Westergren
Percussion Rolf Landberg

Musical coaches Martin Hellström, Michael Engström & Ludvig Nilsson

Production team
Staging & Choreography Åsa Unander-Scharin
Musical direction Carl Unander-Scharin
Visual design & software development Ludvig Elblaus
Software development Federico Visi
Robot choreography Åsa Unander-Scharin
Costume & props design Anna Ardelius
Makeup design Theresia Frisk
Lighting design Jimmy Svensson

Technical team
Technical leader and stage manager Jimmy Svensson
Director´s assistant Olov Nilsson
Assistant robotics programming Elsa Benzinger
Sound & recordings Maurice Mogard
Costume cutter & tailor Mika Luther
Props. Costume, makeup during performances Barbro Lennartsdotter
Press photos Martin Hellström
Language coach Jeremy Carpenter

Publisher Svensk Musik

More information at: kth.se/thetale and operamecatronica.com/the-tale-of-the-great-computing-machine