Composing the Music-Theatre Work I.th.Ak.A. within a Framework of Artistic Research

Abstract

I.th.Ak.A. is a new music-theatre production, premiered on 6 April 2018, in the Opera stabile of the Hamburg State Opera, supported by the Claussen-Simon Foundation and University for Music and Theatre, Hamburg. The music was developed within an Artistic research project, aiming to make intuitive creative ideas cognitive through critical reflection. Specifically, I wished to shed light on the potential to enrich an opera of contemporary classical music through elements of commercial music genres. This involved conceiving such genres as ‘external’ to the classical music tradition and perceives an inside/outside relationship between contemporary classical music and commercial music genres (respectively) and a possibility for ‘newness’ through their interaction. This article reflects on the creative compositional process of developing the score of a new opera and evaluates formative moments thereof.