Aria for a Science Fiction Opera
for soprano and ensemble
As an avid listener to both film scores and opera, I have always been surprised at how under-represented science fiction is on the operatic stage, especially given this art form's unparalleled potential to express all things extravagant and whimsical. I've also always been fascinated by the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence and its humbling potential to help humanity understand its place in the universe (a goal not entirely dissimilar from that of music and the arts.) While I have dreams of composing a full-length opera whose plot involves SETI, this 8-minute aria is the only such thing that has materialized so far.
Set near the beginning of the hypothetical opera, this piece is a soliloquy sung by an astronomer expressing her own (and perhaps humanity's) trepidation and tentative optimism at the prospect of communicating with intelligent life, thereby confirming humanity's smallness as well as its uniqueness within the cosmos.
The libretto is by "Carl M.K. Hawkins," which may very well be a pseudonym.
Set near the beginning of the hypothetical opera, this piece is a soliloquy sung by an astronomer expressing her own (and perhaps humanity's) trepidation and tentative optimism at the prospect of communicating with intelligent life, thereby confirming humanity's smallness as well as its uniqueness within the cosmos.
The libretto is by "Carl M.K. Hawkins," which may very well be a pseudonym.