Scary Beauty

Keiichiro Shibuya is an iconoclastic Japanese composer and pianist, known internationally for his renowned vocaloid opera, The End, composed for Japanese virtual popstar Hatsune Miku.

This new opera experiment, Scary Beauty, is composed for Skeleton, one of the world’s most sophisticated robots. Skeleton will sing live on stage at this world premiere event.

Skeleton has its own neural network mimicking our human brains. This gives it complete control over its limbs and facial expressions through electronic sensors.

Keiichiro Shibuya has composed three songs to be performed by Skeleton with the Australian Art Orchestra. The music will combine tape loops, string quartet, trumpet, saxophone, bass trombone, piano, and percussion to produce utterly unprecedented music expressing the absurdity, tragedy, and beauty of the human condition.

Scary Beauty was presented as part of Meeting Points, a triple bill of music performances that break down barriers between cultures, genres, and disciplines. They feature artists from Japan, South Korea, China, and Arnhem Land with Australia’s leading contemporary music ensemble, the Australian Art Orchestra. Meeting Points brings together vastly different Asian and Australian musical styles into an afternoon-long world premiere music event exclusive to OzAsia Festival.

PERFORMANCES

OzAsia Festival, Adelaide Festival Centre: Space Theatre, Saturday 30 September, 6:00pm

OzAsia Festival, Adelaide Festival Centre: Space Theatre, Sunday 1 October, 2:00pm

CREATIVE TEAM

Curator of Meeting Points: Peter Knight

Concept, Composition: 渋谷慶一郎 (Keiichiro Shibuya)
Android Production: 石黒浩 
Co-Android Production: 小川浩平 (Kohei Ogawa)
Develop Theory for Android Movement: 池上高志 (Takashi Ikegami)
Programming for Android Movement: 土井樹 (Itsuki Doi)
Stage Manager: 岩田拓朗 (Takuro Iwata)
Technical Assistant: 丸山透 (Toru Maruyama)
Video: 涌井智仁 (Tomohito Wakui)
Sound Engineer: 金森祥之 (Yoshiyuki Kanamori)
Assistant Sound Engineer: 行村剛 (Takashi Yukimura)
Producer: 阿部一直 (Kazunao Abe)
Co-Producer: 小川滋 (Shigeru Ogawa)
Production Assistant: 中村桃子 (Momoko Nakamura)
Production Management: 神田圭美 (Tamami Kanda)
Production Management/Translation: 大木奈緒美 (Naomi Ohki)

Australian Art Orchestra
Artistic director, trumpet, electronics: Peter Knight
Saxophone, electronics: Jem Savage
Violin: Lizzy Welsh
Cello: Hilary Kleinig
Viola: Anna Webb
Contra bass: Sam Pankhurst
Percussion: Matthias Schack-Arnott
Bass trombone, flute, buchla: Adrian Sherriff