The Center for New Music hosts an online Zoom launch event with the cast and creators of The Electronic Lover, a new podcast opera by Bay Area composer Lisa Mezzacappa and Brooklyn writer Beth Lisick, on Friday, August 14 at 7pm.
The Electronic Lover is a serial audio drama set in Internet chatrooms in the early 1980s, at the moment when we first invited computers into the most intimate aspects of our lives. The 40-minute pilot double episode released at this event will be followed by the full season launch in 2021. The cast includes six lead vocalists whose careers as performers and songwriters encompass jazz, classical, indie pop, Afrobeat and art rock: Karina Denike, Michelle Amador, Katy Stephan, Melody Jeune Ferris, Jesse Olsen Bay and David James. In addition, a three-person choir specializing in contemporary vocal techniques features star experimental vocalists Danishta Rivero and Aurora Josephson, along with Olsen Bay. The musicians include synthesizer virtuoso Steve Blum and percussion wizard Jordan Glenn, with Mezzacappa on electric and acoustic bass. Lisick narrates.
Starting August 14, the podcast will be free to stream or download on all the major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Stitcher and Deezer. Full cast information, libretto text, and episode credits are available at theelectroniclover.com.
At this online Zoom event, the cast and creators will introduce the pilot episode and then settle in for a group listening party with the audience, with a Q&A to follow. The event is free and open to the public, but all attendees must RSVP in advance. Click “buy tickets” to RSVP. Attendees will receive an email with the Zoom link and instructions on how to join approximately 30 minutes before the showtime.