Fathers	- a new opera by The Lappetites

The project combines digital music composition, cultural observation, moving image, live visualization, video, documentary, fantasy, autobiographical interpretations, communication, projection, performance as well as crossing over into classical opera.

Fathers is structured from an overture and 9 scenes, all being ensemble stage scenes with the final one presenting a choir.

Scene 1 Roots, Wurzeln, Kongen
Scene 2 Survival, Uberleben, Seizon Shukumei
Scene 3 Body Maps, Koerperkarten, Shintai zu
Scene 4 Love, Liebe, Ai
Scene 5 Beliefs, Glauben, Shinkou
Scene 6 Meeting, Begegnung, Deai
Scene 7 Father Daughter Axis, Vater-Tochter-Achse, Chichi Musume No Souguu
Scene 8 Illusions, Illusionen, Genkaku
Scene 9 Death, Tod, Shi

The stage uses three back projection screens (3 screens with 16:9 ratio) and a moving gauze (6x10m) at the front of the stage, as well as slide projectors, rotating motors, and crystals for projection, 4 video projectors and a multichannel sound system. 

Video and spatialation is realized live in the performance space from the performers. The performers are 3 Lappetites as daughters , 3 male opera singers as the fathers, 1 Lappetite as video performer and a choir.

All pieces are collectively written by The Lappetites via internet collaboration, in total 19 new compositions, of which 4 are performed entirely live and 10 songs sung by the daughters and fathers and the choir.

Following 5 years researching the lives of their own fathers, a high ranking officer in the East German Army, an English arable farmer born on the land he still works, and a Korean business man emigrated to Japan, the Lappetites filtered real and historical material  through current and digital transformations to tell a series of tales, sometimes tri-fold, sometimes singular, framed by the narrative, translating the cultural distances.

The Lappetites had no funding for this project except the 2 commitments by the premier venue HKW Berlin and a preview show at the Kontraste Festival, Krems, Austria. The work started with the idea of a multi media cultural opera in 2002 and was realized in 2009, with tremendous personal effort by the members of the collective The Lappetites.

Credits:

Production/Direction/Audio/Video : The Lappetites
Opera singers: Johannes Kuehn, Sascha Boerris, Clemens Gnad 
Choir: the choir of the House of the World Cultures directed by: Phillip Neumann
Stage Technicians: Hermann Volkery, Adrian Pilling, Jason Dorn, Benjamin Brandt
Lighting: Andre Schulz
Sound: Matthias Hardenberger
Clothes of the Lappetites: Uli Dziallas and the Lappetites

Thanks to the fathers: Richard Matthews, Takeo Nemoto, Juergen Greie

Thanks to HKW and Kontraste Krems

short biographies of the performers Involved:

Antye Greie aka AGF (Germany/ Finland)
AGF aka Antye Greie is an East German singer and songwriter, producer known for the deconstruction of language and communication within music and abstract poetry. www.poemproducer.com

Blanca Regina Perez-Bustamante (Spain)
Blanca Regina Pérez-Bustamante Yábar aka Whitee is an audiovisual artist and teaches video art. www.whiteemotion.com
Kaffe Matthews (UK)
Kaffe Matthews was born in Essex, England. She lives and works in London and has been making electronic music since 1990.
Ryoko Akama (Japan)
Ryoko Akama is a video/sound artist.

Johannes Kühn (Berlin)
studied at Hochschule für Musik FRANZ LISZT, Weimar and acting at Universität der Künste, Berlin. Bariton.

Sascha Boerris (Berlin)
studied with Prof. Herbert Brauer and at Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler", Berlin. Bass.

Clemens Gland (Passau)
studied at Hochschule für Künste in Bremen with Prof. Thomas Mohr as well as at the renowned studio of Maestro David Jones in New York.

HKW choir
around 30 singers of all ages and different origins
directed by Phillip Neumann

Premiere Text by HKW

WORLDTRONICS09: The Lappetites
Wed 25.11.2009 | 20 h
Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin

Adventure, pioneering spirit, thinking outside the box – that’s what this is all about... Electronica Surprise opens with the premiere of the laptop-opera “Fathers” – beyond all genre limits.

"Fathers" bursts all media, musical and geographical boundaries. The Lappetites is an ensemble of four women: Antye Greie aka AGF (Berlin / Finland), Kaffe Matthews (London), Ryoko Akama (Tokyo) and Blanca Regina Pérez-Bustamante (Spain). Actually, each of them is a soloist in her own right, working in electronic songwriting, club, new music and multimedia. Their fathers’ lives are the subject of the opera, presenting interviews of very different types of men. A video triptych accompanied by narrative voices, singers, programmed and live electronics— documentary and sound sculpture mixed into one.

TEXT spoken in 3 languages

Salt Story

once upon a time - es war einmal - (japanese)
there was a king
who had 3 daughters

he spoke
who of you loves me most
the one shall govern after me

the first daughter spoke (one of us says, ryoko!)

i love you like untouched nature
pure, wild, meaningful

the second daughter spoke (kaffe)

i love you like the arts
music, sound, emotional questioning

the third daughter spoke (agf)

i love you like the uncensored internet
progress, communication, liberation

the king answers

why is non of you saying, you love me like salt
dont you know this is an ancient fairy tale

the girls answer

salt is no good for you papa
you use herbs instead

you shall govern all 3 of you
to make decisions you have to agree

but dad: we will agrue so much

i trust you, arguing will be the salt in the soup!

Lyrics

father song

when my father`s memory becomes my own
when my father`s life is spoken and flows

no waste of time with emotional depression
only to walk forward with action

in hidden places of his own
there must be what he really is

year after year
day on day
tag ein tag aus

pünktlich
zuverlässig
regeln
aufgaben

in hidden places of his own
there must be what he really is

a man of earth
daichino hito (the man of earth)
mann der machines
kikaino hito /seijino hito
(the man of the machine, the man of the politics)

no waste of time with emotional depression
only to walk forward with action

in hidden spaces of his own
there must be so much of tears and memories
that will not be come out to be shown
to be seen by the others

in hidden places of his own
there must be what he really is

RA, AG 2009

Rise with the day

(daughter)
I rise with the day
In the light or the dark
I feel the air is cold today
Will the rain clouds part?

Plant we the seed in rows so long
Roots sink down low, leaves to the sky
To fruit to feed
No weed to grow here 
No weed to grow here
How much can we grow?

We shall feed you
We shall feed you
We shall feed you
We shall feed you.

The weather my master
I have no control
I rise with the day
Till, nurture my soil.

(father)
It was upon a spring day 
Out walking crops with Father
The air the space the beauty
There was no doubt or question,

This land is my home
Where my family have grown
My heart will rise with the day
Till the light has flown.

Plant we the seed in rows so long
Roots sink down low, leaves to the sky
To fruit to feed
No weed to grow here 
No weed to grow here
How much can we grow?

This land is my home
Where my family have grown
This soil will grow with the day
When our breath has long flown.

KM.  2009.

Skype Meeting (sung by opera singers)

richard, juergen, takeo

INTRO

hello, hallo, konnichiwa
guten tag, hi, guten abend

my name is richard
mein name is juergen
i am takeo, nice to meet you
nice to meet you
i do speak a little bit of english

VERSES

ich war noch nie in japan (i never been to japan)
in meinem leben In this place
der mittelpunkt waren autos

i have never been to japan
i have lived In this country
i work with soil

i have never been to europe
In this world
i work with night???

CHORUS

i hope to see you one day
ich hoffe ich werde sie mal im echten leben
i hope to see you in real life

: all: so we can have a drink together

I heard a lot about you 
wir sprachen über sie
I heard a lot about you 

The world has changed
like a speedy dream
we grandfathers now
and the world got so small

Born in english land
Born on east german ground
Born in japan after war

Old as my wrinkles
grey as my hair
gone like my anger/ Silvery as my white hair

Heavy as our long long history.
Big as the earth where we stand on. 
Warm and dry as nostalgic memory of mother

What do I expect.
I met you well. It is a delight.

I wander the wood to get out of the best exit. 
That  promises the life next.

CHORUS

i hope to see you one day
ich hoffe ich werde sie mal im echten leben
i hope to see you in real life

: all: so we can have a drink together

義理と人情 

正義心と親友の愛の霊魂形あり
生まれし時から母上の真の心我力なり

ああ，人のためにと取りはからう

義理と人情 どっちが正しい
私が守らねば 従い従われ

千代をや重ね 豊かに舞う
春夏秋冬 時を踏む

静かに

duty and sympathy

the sense of injustice, the spirit of love of close friends
it exists, in shape.

since the birth, the honesty of mother
that is the strength in my life

ah, i manage always only for the other humans

duty and sympathy
which is right?
liability for protect others
obeying and obeyed

time, ages,
piled over
dance gracefully

spring summer autumn winter
treading on life

quietly
quietly

RA, 2009

FATHERS - SCORES 25 Nov. - TOTAL APROX 93 minutes

Overture - Duration: 5´14¨ 

  
	TIME		MUSIC	                    SCREENS                   LIGHTING                  ONSTAGE

00:00- 03:00  - Main Mixer (Kaffe)       no image 		  None                         None , 3 desks

03:00 - 04:14 - Main Mixer (Kaffe)   Fade in Globe                 None                         None , 3 desks
			                                   Gauze Screen  		   
			
04:14  	       - Main Mixer               Off Gauze Ryoko          Fade slow                     Kaffe comes down to stage left  
											3 profiles                       and Antye goes to middle stage
											   desk                            and Ryoko moves to the desk

                                                                                  
4: 14 - 05: 14                                      maps 3screens             3 profiles                       Kaffe, AGF, Ryoko at Desks
											   desk

05:15			Chapter Marker 1 // Duration 00 : 15 seconds // 

Scene 1- ROOTS- Duration 04´35¨

	TIME		MUSIC	                    SCREENS                   LIGHTING                     ONSTAGE

05:30- 10:05     Off 3films                    3films, 		       3profiles desk                  Kaffe, AGF, Ryoko at Desks
                             Blanca                                                           3chairs shadows             sitted still in front of audience

		      Fade out                      Fade out                      Fade Out                           Kaffe, AGF, Ryoko at Desks		

    
   02´00 ¨ -   Father Song -                  Nothing on          Spotlight into the audience   Kaffe, AGF, Ryoko at Desks
			                           Gauze&3screens	following Johannes onto stage

					                                                Fade in 3profiles desk            Kaffe, AGF, Ryoko at Desks
									          slow blue shadow on stage  Sasha sings front gauze, stage left
												                                 Move  back to chair in blue shadow   				

					  Kaffe pulls back gauze 

                                              
					Chapter Marker 2 // Duration 00 : 15 seconds //

Scene2 - WORK- Duration 8´42¨

	TIME		MUSIC	                    SCREENS                          LIGHTING                            ONSTAGE
					     
                      3films Blanca            bang 3 films at the back             None                                 Agf , Kaffe and Ryo on stage
		  + live on stage           solos on gauze mixed                 3 spots

 
End of scene2-  " Rise with the day "- Duration- 02:35

		TIME		MUSIC	                    SCREENS                   LIGHTING                        ONSTAGE
				
			       Main Kaffe                 Gauze with wheat    Desk lights, amber shadow  Kaffe Ryo and AGF in desks ,Sasha in chair with amber shadow
											  
 			    Sasha +Main Kaffe     Gauze with  wheat   Low lights sides of gauze     Sasha cames front side of gauze

 01´13"          Real dad movie                  Gauze                              None                                  Kaffe Ryo and AGF
		      James Bond 

					Chapter Marker 3// Duration 00 : 15 seconds //

Scene3 - BODY MAPS-  Duration: 4´ 36"

		TIME		 MUSIC	                    SCREENS                   LIGHTING                        ONSTAGE
				
			         Kaffe			        Gauze- Palms	         Table lights                     Kaffe, AGF, Ryoko on tables
								+syncronator

End 
  								Off gauze Agf 		No lights                         Remove Kaffe and Ryo tables.
								Fade out palms

			             Chapter Marker 4// Duration 00 : 15 seconds //

Scene4- SALT STORY + LOVE SCENE -

SALT STORY  -  Duration 2´ 57" 

		TIME		 MUSIC	                    SCREENS                   LIGHTING                        ONSTAGE
				
				  3 films			  3 videos			  No lights                        AGF on Table.

LOVE - 3 minutes

		AGF,Ryo&Kaffe(mics)   	         love Ryo film 	          shadows Red Ryo           AGF on Table, Kaffe and Ryo singing behind screen
		AGF,Ryo&Kaffe(mics)                 love Kaffe film 		shadows Amber Kaffe     AGF on Table  Kaffe and Ryo singing behind screen
					 			Big Beamer

Kaffe at the end comes up to general mixing desk, Fade all to  black pause.

INTERVAL - 01´00

	01´00"               Choir hums	                None                 None                                Ryo and AGF on stage
		                 in auditorium 

		               End Humming	                None                 Shadow red light            Clemens from red shadow
												                                            to center stage

          03´ 40"           Shamison Song           	      None			     Light in singer                Clemens on the stage singin first acappella
			           Clemens			
			       + Main Kaffe 		

	 01´20"  		    			     Real Takeo Film

			
			   Chapter Marker 5// Duration 00 : 15 seconds //

Scene5 - BELIEFS- Duration 06:50 

		TIME		MUSIC	                    SCREENS                   LIGHTING                        ONSTAGE

		Main Kaffe + AGF+ Ryo		Fire Big beamer	 1Table light                Ryoko at middle table
											                                                Agf handheld mic
									
                                					 3 films

          In minute 6 audio   fade out ( Kaffe moves to sing)  Kaffe goes into and aisle into center  Girls sing along acappella 
 
	Fade all to  black  and Agf table out

			   Chapter Marker 6// Duration 00 : 15 seconds //

Scene 6 - SkYPE- Duration:   5 minutes. 

		TIME		MUSIC	          SCREENS                   LIGHTING                        ONSTAGE
		
		  	   From films 		3 films 			      None                        Nothing on stage 

After 2 minutes audio fade out 

skype song  : 3 minutes

			From stage 		3 films                 For 3 singers+ profiles      Sasha come from the left - Hello , Hello, to position left , light from the top
			Sasha, Clemens					 	                            Clemens came from the right - Konichiwa to position right, light from the top
			Johannes						 		                            Johannes  cames from the left- Guten Tag to center , light from the top

Fade all to  black  and Antye set on the gauze 

			Chapter Marker 7// Duration 00 : 15 seconds //

Scene7 - Father Daugther Axis-   5  minutes ( estimated)

		TIME		MUSIC	          SCREENS                   LIGHTING                          ONSTAGE
				Kaffe 		Gauze and back          No light                               None
				main desk

    
		TIME		MUSIC	            SCREENS                  LIGHTING                           ONSTAGE

	        3 min.    Agf  Krummgeborgen

		1: 20 				 Real dad movie    Down sides front gauze       Agf , front gauze, Ryo and Kaffe
		                           				 	                 and profile                            Bring the tables 

			Chapter Marker 8// Duration 00 : 15 seconds //

Scene 8- ILUSIONS- Duration :07:30

		TIME		MUSIC	          SCREENS                   LIGHTING                        ONSTAGE
			   
			AGF, Ryo, Kaffe	Slides                    Sides down between             4 tables 
							(start)                     back and gauze            
 										   start when musicians 

	Chapter Marker 9// Duration 00 : 15 seconds //

Scene 9- DEATH- Duration : 9 minutes 

	TIME		MUSIC	          SCREENS                   LIGHTING                        ONSTAGE

			Stage and          None           		Front stage                      Kaffe , Ryo .AGF. Singer and Choir
			Choir						Strobes and light design