Name: Alan Turing
Start: 2022-08-24T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2022-08-25T00:00:00.000Z
Location: SortHvid

Organization

Copenhagen Opera Festival

Video designer

Jörgen Dahlqvist

Countertenor

Albert Montañez

Soloist

Set designer

Daniel Back

Stage director

Michael Rizzo

Alan Turing

Copenhagen

Denmark

SortHvid

Alan Turing Olofsson

Public

Approved

Artificial intelligence, Nazi resistance and the fight against brutal suppression of sexual minorities. The mathematician Alan Turing’s life is a tragic and captivating story of love, pain, secrets and breaking scientific ground.

"The life of the pioneer, Alan Turing, has been captured in a newly written opera, which will be performed at the theatre Sort/Hvid.  Cross-disciplinary artist, counter-tenor Albert Montañez, has written the libretto and sings the title role of Alan Turing.

 The performance combines opera, theater, computer-generated music and technological elements in its portrayal of a human being who was way ahead of his time. It was performed for the first time during Halland Opera & Vocal Festival in 2020.

 “Alan Turing's tragic death needed to be told from an opera perspective as it is the perfect opera story,” says Albert Montañez about the mathematician and the LGBTQ+ icon, who was portrayed in 2014 by the actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the film ’The Imitation Game’.

 Turing was found dead at the age of 41 in 1954 - according to some theories, after having eaten an apple, poisoned with cyanide. The performance lasts for one hour and depicts the last hours of his life.

 With his searing intelligence, Alan Turing is known as one of the founding fathers of the modern computer. He broke the code machine of Nazi Germany during the Second World War saving millions of lives. Before his death, he was taken to court for being actively homosexual and was pressured into subjecting himself to chemical castration. Today, he has become an icon for LGBTQ+ rights.

 The performance challenges the encounter between the creative power of man on one side and artificial intelligence on the other. Parts of the musical score are computer-generated and performed together with Albert Montañez’ searing counter-tenor solos. The score of the opera is composed by Swedish composer, Kent Olofsson.

”We have tried to recreate Alan Turing's idea of thinking machines,” says Kent Olofsson. ”Hopefully, this will bring the audience very close to the last hours of Alan Turing's life.”

 After the performance on Thursday the 25th of August you can attend a talk and insight with the creative team behind the opera ‘Alan Turing’.

English

Kunstig intelligens, nazismemodstand og kampen mod brutal undertrykkelse af seksuelle minoriteter. Matematikeren Alan Turings liv er en tragisk og fængslende fortælling om kærlighed, smerte, hemmeligheder og videnskabelige nybrud.

Nu er pionerskikkelsens liv blevet fortolket som en nyskrevet opera, der opføres på Sort/Hvid. Det er den tværdisciplinære kunstner Albert Montañez, som både har skrevet librettoen til operaen ‘Alan Turing’ og som kontratenor selv synger rollen som Alan Turing.

Forestillingen kombinerer opera, teater, computergenereret musik og teknologiske elementer i sin skildring af et menneske, der var enormt forud for sin tid. Den blev uropført forrige år under Halland Opera & Vocal Festival.

“Alan Turings tragiske død egner sig til at blive fortalt fra et operaperspektiv, for det er den perfekte operahistorie,” siger Albert Montañez om matematikeren og LGBTQ+-ikonet, som i 2014 blev portrætteret af skuespilleren Benedict Cumberbatch i filmen ’The Imitation Game’. 

Turing blev fundet død som 41-årig i 1954 – ifølge nogle teorier efter at have spist et æble forgiftet med cyanid. Forestillingen varer en time og skildrer minutiøst den sidste skæbnesvangre time i hans liv. 

Med sin lysende intelligens var Alan Turing en af den moderne computers fædre. Han knækkede Nazitysklands kodemaskine under Anden Verdenskrig og reddede dermed millioner af menneskeliv. Inden sin død blev han retsforfulgt for at udleve sin homoseksualitet og presset til at lade sig underkaste kemisk kastration. I dag står han som et ikon for LGBTQ+-rettigheder. 

Kompositorisk udforsker forestillingen mødet mellem menneskelig skaberkraft og kunstig intelligens. Dele af musikken er computergenereret og opføres i samklang med Albert Montañez’ sydende kontratenor-soloer. Det forklarer den svenske komponist Kent Olofsson, som har skabt musikken.

”Vi har forsøgt at genskabe Alan Turings idé om tænkende maskiner,” siger Kent Olofsson. ”Forhåbentlig fører det publikum helt tæt på de sidste timer i Alan Turings liv.”

‘Alan Turing’ er et samarbejde mellem Copenhagen Opera Festival og Sort/Hvid. 

Efter operaen torsdag den 25. august er publikum inviteret til en samtale med holdet bag ‘Alan Turing’.

dansk

Alan Turing by Olofsson, K., De (2022/2022), Dirigit per Michael Rizzo,, SortHvid, Copenhagen, Denmark

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