NOMINATION: Work of the Year - Dramatic
Dramatic works are defined as music primarily intended for theatre and dance, such as opera, music theatre and ballet.
A work is defined as a single complete musical composition, or expression. This includes music with movements or sub-works (i.e. song cycles), installations, and real-time compositions (improvised music).
If you believe your work to be nominated in the wrong category or the details of your nomination to be incorrect, please contact the AMC via email at awards@australianmusiccentre.com.au before proceeding with the nomination.
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Nominee
Alex Raineri
Title of the work
Staged
Librettist(s) or source author(s)
Alex Raineri
Performer
Finn Idris(Electronics), Jenna Robertson (Voice / Interpretation), Daniel Shearer (Cello / Interpretation)
Performance Date
23/8/2024
Venue
Fourth Wall Arts
Nominator Statement
'Staged' is a powerful and compelling reflection on the anxieties of being an artist. At times luminously gorgeous and other times incredibly violent and unsettling this work is a surreal dreamscape of incredible breadth and depth of artistry and is a fabulous example of how collaborative art can be incredibly successful. It's director and primary composer Alex Raineri writes of it :
"The premise of the work is to invite the audience beyond the fourth wall, to step inside the psychosis of the performative persona (think Black Swan). Ten movements set a libretto quilted from anonymous artists submissions of anxiety dreams, which serve as provocations for the audience to enter our world, the world of the stage.
Musical material is gestural and semi-improvised - the score exists in instruction format, and will distinctly bear the mark of the performers temperaments through their activation in performance. This work is deeply collaborative.
The theatre of the work is minimal. The stage space is intimate. A DIY set consists of thirteen LED light panels and acoustic foam - materials stripped from the venue itself through renovations. Thus, the venue (FourthWall Arts), also becomes a silent player in this piece of abstract music/theatre."
The libretto, sourced from real stories from the anxiety dreams of various artists, ties the work together and rather starkly shines a light on the subconscious manifestation of insecurities all artists feel. Raineri has done a wonderful job structuring the whole show to give a compelling and satisfying emotional arc.
The backbone of the soundworld of the show is the electronics by Finn Idris. Being extremely varied, colorful and detailed, this electronic palette is a universe unto itself, and without them it would be hard to imagine the dream-like quality being so perfectly conjured.
But if Idris' electronics are the orchestra, then Jenna Robertson (voice) and Daniel Shearer (cello) are the clearly the operatic leads. Their execution of the semi-improvised material throughout the show, combined with their dramatic sense, leads the whole show, they are the 'main characters' through whom we experience the show.
'Staged' is a thoughtful and moving tribute to the artists behind the art, both alluring and unsettling in its truth. This work great triumph of collaborative artistry and hugely worthy of this nomination.
Nominee
Alex Raineri
Title of the work
Staged
Librettist(s) or source author(s)
Alex Raineri
Performer
Finn Idris(Electronics), Jenna Robertson (Voice / Interpretation), Daniel Shearer (Cello / Interpretation)
Performance Date
23/8/2024
Venue
Fourth Wall Arts
"The premise of the work is to invite the audience beyond the fourth wall, to step inside the psychosis of the performative persona (think Black Swan). Ten movements set a libretto quilted from anonymous artists submissions of anxiety dreams, which serve as provocations for the audience to enter our world, the world of the stage.
Musical material is gestural and semi-improvised - the score exists in instruction format, and will distinctly bear the mark of the performers temperaments through their activation in performance. This work is deeply collaborative.
The theatre of the work is minimal. The stage space is intimate. A DIY set consists of thirteen LED light panels and acoustic foam - materials stripped from the venue itself through renovations. Thus, the venue (FourthWall Arts), also becomes a silent player in this piece of abstract music/theatre."
The libretto, sourced from real stories from the anxiety dreams of various artists, ties the work together and rather starkly shines a light on the subconscious manifestation of insecurities all artists feel. Raineri has done a wonderful job structuring the whole show to give a compelling and satisfying emotional arc.
The backbone of the soundworld of the show is the electronics by Finn Idris. Being extremely varied, colorful and detailed, this electronic palette is a universe unto itself, and without them it would be hard to imagine the dream-like quality being so perfectly conjured.
But if Idris' electronics are the orchestra, then Jenna Robertson (voice) and Daniel Shearer (cello) are the clearly the operatic leads. Their execution of the semi-improvised material throughout the show, combined with their dramatic sense, leads the whole show, they are the 'main characters' through whom we experience the show.
'Staged' is a thoughtful and moving tribute to the artists behind the art, both alluring and unsettling in its truth. This work great triumph of collaborative artistry and hugely worthy of this nomination.