TheThe FandomFandom ofof thethe Opera:Opera: HowHow thethe AudienceAudience forfor aa FourFour --CenturyCentury --OldOld ArtArt FormForm HelpedHelped CreateCreate thethe ModernModern MediaMedia WorldWorld Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 1 TraditionalTraditional MediaMedia HistoryHistory 1876: Bell files patent for the telephone st 1879: 1 Edison light bulb demonstration st 1895: 1 movie theater st 1920: 1 commercial radio station st 1927: 1 sound movie 1939: TV introduced at New York World ’s Fair st 1954: 1 NTSC color TV show st 1961: 1 FM stereo broadcast Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 2 TraditionalTraditional OperaOpera 1876: Bell files patent for 1849: Havana Opera electrical the telephone voice -transmission experiments st 1879: 1 Edison light bulb 1849: Paris Opera electric -light demonstration effect in Le Proph ète st 1895: 1 movie theater 1886: opera movie system st st 1920: 1 commercial 1910: 1 radio broadcasts radio station of operas st 1927: 1 sound movie 1900: opera sound movies 1939: TV introduced at 1936: opera Pickwick on TV New York World ’s Fair before its opening night st 1954: 1 NTSC color TV show 1953: NBC Carmen in NTSC color st 1961: 1 FM stereo 1925: Berlin Opera stereo radio broadcast broadcasts Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 3 Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 4 Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 5 WhatWhat IsIs Opera?Opera? Latin:Latin: opusopus == work,work, operaopera == worksworks SingingSinging InstrumentalInstrumental MusicMusic StorytellingStorytelling ActingActing VisualVisual ArtsArts StageStage CraftCraft DancingDancing Opus [a piece of work] ““exotickexotick && irrationalirrational ”” © Berkeley Breathed - Samuel Johnson http:// www.berkeleybreathed.com / Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 6 Expensive!Expensive! Solutions:Solutions: boxesboxes forfor thethe richrich Palais Garnier largelarge auditoriumauditorium Paris Opera thusthus largelarge gesturesgestures “melodrama ” largelarge institutioninstitution withwith bigbig budgetbudget “Of all the noises known to man, opera is the most expensive ” - attributed to Moli ère Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 7 WhyWhy IsIs GalileoGalileo CalledCalled Galileo?Galileo? IsaacIsaac NewtonNewton JohannesJohannes KeplerKepler NicholasNicholas CopernicusCopernicus EdmundEdmund HalleyHalley ClaudiusClaudius PtolemyPtolemy ChristiaanChristiaan HuygensHuygens GiovanniGiovanni CassiniCassini GalileoGalileo GalileiGalilei Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 8 VincenzoVincenzo GalileiGalilei ,, 15201520 --15911591 FatherFather ofof operaopera foundingfounding membermember ofof CountCount BardiBardi ’’ss CamerataCamerata FatherFather ofof modernmodern acousticsacoustics equationsequations forfor tuningtuning stringsstrings andand pipespipes FatherFather ofof GalileoGalileo chosechose mellifluousmellifluous namename taughttaught himhim toto experimentexperiment Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 9 ““TheThe BaroqueBaroque Twins:Twins: ScienceScience && OperaOpera ”” Galileo Galilei Claudio Monteverdi 1564 -1642 1567 -1643 “Father of Modern Science ” “Father of Musical Drama ” Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 10 FirstFirst OperaOpera Medium:Medium: BooksBooks 1711 – multi -sales translation (Handel ’s candles ) 1598 - gift 1600 – for sale librettolibretto == littlelittle bookbook Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 11 EarlyEarly SoundSound DistributionDistribution 1637:1637: firstfirst operaopera ticketticket theatertheater inin VeniceVenice turnedturned intointo firstfirst operaopera househouse (with(with boxes)boxes) 1673:1673: PhonurgiaPhonurgia NovaNova AthanasiusAthanasius KircherKircher publishespublishes plansplans toto extendextend thethe soundsound beyondbeyond thethe auditoriumauditorium inin --househouse soundsound ductsducts startingstarting inin 1717 th centurycentury BuildingsBuildings forfor Music,Music, MichaelMichael Forsyth,Forsyth, MITMIT Press,Press, 19851985 Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 12 Early Moving -Image Projection 1728 Early Moving -Image Projection book HamburgHamburg OperaOpera (no(no laterlater thanthan 1726)1726) magicmagic lanternlantern Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 13 MoreMore IlluminationIllumination 18491849 electricelectric --arcarc sunrisesunrise effect,effect, ParisParis Opera,Opera, JulesJules DuboscqDuboscq laterlater rainbow,rainbow, spoutingspouting fountain,fountain, etc.etc. NatureNature applaudsapplauds batterybattery --fumefume safetysafety patentspatents 11 st photographicphotographic motionmotion --picturepicture projectionprojection system,system, 18521852 (( inin 3D!)3D!) 18811881 gasgas --jetjet librettolibretto projectionprojection patent,patent, UK,UK, W.R.W.R. LakeLake && S.L.S.L. JonesJones Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 14 MediaMedia toto GoGo BeyondBeyond thethe HouseHouse Wheatstone “Enchanted - Lyre ” concert “by these means the music of the opera may ere long be simultane - ously ” heard elsewhere, Repository of Arts, Sep. 1, 1821 Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 15 TheThe Telephone:Telephone: LossLoss ofof VisualVisual 1848:1848: homehome --deliverydelivery forfor aa fee,fee, PunchPunch 1849:1849: electricelectric tests,tests, HavanaHavana OperaOpera 1876:1876: NYNY TimesTimes predictspredicts BOBO dropdrop 1877:1877: DuDu MaurierMaurier cartoon,cartoon, PunchPunch 1878:1878: DonDon PasqualePasquale inin BellinzonaBellinzona 1880:1880: ZZ üürichrich toto BâleBâle ,, 8080 km,km, microphonemicrophone forfor opera,opera, firstfirst courtesycourtesy homehome listenerslisteners Punch, December 14, 1877 Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 16 EagerlyEagerly AwaitingAwaiting MediaMedia March 22, 1876 before Alexander Graham Bell announcement Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 17 ““HotHot andand CrowdedCrowded ”” LavoisierLavoisier OpOp éérara dede ParisParis lighting, ventilation OpenOpen flamesflames consumeconsume oxygenoxygen addadd COCO 2 generategenerate heatheat Ventilating and Heating, John Shaw Billings, The Engineering Record, 1893 causecause coldcold draftsdrafts The Engineering Record, 1893 sometimessometimes smoke, stink, toxins, dripping wax & oil, uncontrolled fires Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 18 Salle Le Peletier OperaOpera 1873 CouldCould BeBe DeadlyDeadly Fire codes, extinguishers Vienna Opera: 21 - man “fire watch ” Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 19 MeucciMeucci stagehand,stagehand, TeatroTeatro delladella Pergola,Pergola, FlorenceFlorence technicaltechnical director,director, TeatroTeatro TacTac óónn,, Havana,Havana, experimentsexperiments 19491949 StatenStaten Isl.Isl. museummuseum Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 20 “… performances at 1850 spoof of Barnum’s promotion “… performances at of Swedish opera soprano Jenny Lind thethe ParisParis OperaOpera dependdepend largelylargely forfor theirtheir successsuccess onon thethe sceneryscenery andand ballet,ballet, thethe singerssingers notnot rankingranking veryvery highhigh ”” TheThe ElectricianElectrician andand ElectricalElectrical Engineer,Engineer, AugustAugust 1887,1887, ofof aa P.P. T.T. BarnumBarnum planplan toto bringbring ParisParis OperaOpera performancesperformances toto thethe U.S.U.S. byby teleptelephonehone atat $5$5 perper actact (~$120(~$120 inin todaytoday ’’ss money)money) Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 21 TheThe FirstFirst HomeHome Listeners:Listeners: 18801880 EdwardEdward P.P. Fry,Fry, connectedconnected toto NewNew YorkYork ’’ss AcademyAcademy ofof MusicMusic nono laterlater thanthan NovemberNovember courtesycourtesy ofof Col.Col. J.J. H.H. MaplesonMapleson arrangedarranged photosphotos ofof singerssingers aroundaround himselfhimself WilliamWilliam HeardenHearden ,, connectedconnected toto PlymouthPlymouth ’’ss TheatreTheatre RoyalRoyal possiblypossibly inin NovemberNovember courtesycourtesy ofof J.J. R.R. NewcombeNewcombe Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 22 ParisParis StereoStereo 18811881 (London(London laterlater samesame year)year) Victor Hugo: “It ’s very strange. We heard the opera through two ear - pieces connected to the wall. ” “The children were delighted, & me, too. ” Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 23 OperaOpera PromotesPromotes TelephonesTelephones portion of 1883 Dundee (Scotland) telephone directory Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 24 DeathDeath ofof aa Princess,Princess, BirthBirth ofof aa MediumMedium Teatro de São Carlos King Luis I Princess Maria Ana Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 25 FasterFaster --thanthan --LightLight Neutrinos?Neutrinos? Oscillation Project with Emulsion -tRacking Apparatus Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 26 EngineeringEngineering toto thethe RescueRescue O Antonio Maria, 6 de mar ço de 1884 Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 27 HonorHonor && ProtocolProtocol SatisfiedSatisfied 18841884 first ear buds? Mark 8chubin, NYU -Poly, 2012 April 27 28 PayPay --CableCable 18851885 FullFull seasonseason (90(90 operas)operas) fromfrom TeatroTeatro dede SSãoão CarlosCarlos 180k180k reisreis (~$1825(~$1825 today)today) JointJoint ventureventure ofof theatricaltheatrical promoterspromoters && locallocal telephonetelephone companycompany InIn samesame year,year, withwith onlyonly 8080 telephonetelephone 1884 TV? subscriberssubscribers inin thethe city,city, MadridMadrid phonephone telephone operaopera serviceservice planned,planned, addingadding aa centralcentral transmitter hallhall forfor nonnon --telephonetelephone --subscriberssubscribers