Future Sounds
From the stories we tell to the process used to tell them, join Improbable in creating music and opera that is in – and of – the moment.
Through our Future Sounds programme, we wanted to help change the future of contemporary opera and music in theatre.
What relevance does opera and theatre have in building our collective future? How can traditionally more hierarchical art-forms engage with the urgent questions of today and tomorrow?
The last decade has seen us start to collaborate with major opera houses on existing works, and the results have been distinct and immersive. We wanted to go further, making our own productions and creating new kinds of operatic practices for stages worldwide.
“A new language requires a new technique. If what you’re saying doesn’t require a new language, then what you’re saying probably isn’t new.”
— Philip Glass
Photograph by Tristram Kenton
Created through Future Sounds:
❯ Tao of Glass
Commissioned by Manchester International Festival, Improbable, Perth Festival, Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, Hong Kong New Vision Arts Festival and Carolina Performing Arts – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in association with Naomi Milgrom AO.
Photograph by Tristram Kenton
We co-commissioned a brand new piece in the most personal collaboration yet between Phillip Glass and Phelim McDermott. Inspired by a dream, this acclaimed production marries ten meditations on life, death and Taoist wisdom with ten brand new pieces of music from Glass, presented by McDermott with an ensemble of musicians and puppeteers.
❯ Discovering Akhnaten
We created a large-scale community project in New York in response to our version of Philip Glass’ opera made in collaboration with ENO, LA Opera and the Gandini juggling troupe showing at the Metropolitan Opera. Working with countertenor Anthony Roth Constanzo and the Gandini jugglers, we brought together 120 adults and young people from across the five boroughs to create their responses to Akhnaten’s story, staged in the Brooklyn Museum.
❯ Devoted & Disgruntled: Time for Radical Thinking
We held a Devoted and Disgruntled event in partnership with the Royal Opera House to explore the future of making opera in a post-pandemic world. Read the report from that event here.
❯ New work in development
Our aim to keep changing and creating new contemporary opera and music theatre is ongoing with new works in development including An Improbable Musical (premiering with Royal and Derngate in 2022); a digital tour of BambinO, our opera for babies; the development of a new film project based on Tao Of Glass; and two new international operatic collaborations. Watch this space…
Thank you to our generous Kickstarter donors for making this work possible. Your support has changed the way we are able to create new work and we can’t wait to keep sharing that with you.
Thank you to our generous Kickstarter backers:
Jeremy Young
Kickstarter
Hilary Custance Green
Jessica Massart
Azmeena Ladha and John Monks
Jeremy Lanou
Madeleine Morrissey
Tim Crisp
Jenny Metcalfe
Erica Wagner
Claire Zammit
Laura Hayes
Irene Crisp
Kenneth Sutton
Bonnie Grisan
Erica C.
Kathleen Mattson
Rebecca
Bent Andreas Kjellesvig
Nick Homes
Steve Whittles
Paul Dundon
Peter Campbell
Barry Hecker
Cat
Jean-Louis Briulet
Iyeksha Farmer
Judy Medrington
Arthreas
Rachel Humphreys
Juliette
Lindsay Saunders
Issa Kabeer
Amber McDonald
Stephanie
David Brumm
Annemieke Wielinga
Brent Mendelsohn
Jen Toksvig
Cat McGahey
Elaine Teenan
Emma Rees
Karen Morash
Andy Harmon
Julie Sweeting
Morven Macbeth
Beth Lynch
Valéria França
Sydney Titelman
Barbara Hollister
Máire Clerkin
Andrew Lee
Geoff Jackson
Diane Gusikoff
Halla Kolbeinsdottir
Suford Lewis
Ted DeVirgilis
David Glass
Charlotte Hoather
Alison Sedgwick
Rachael Williams
Una Owen
Fiona
Siobhan Chester
Helen Wells
Steven Rayner
Helen Reid
Kate Maravan
Emma Cameron
Delea Shand
Jorge Lugo
Clare Pooley
Joseph Goldfarb
Nell Shotton
Carolyn
Tao Neuendorffer Flaherty
Andrew Condon
Ross Payton
Wolf
Tigan Palmer
Floris Vermeir
Korinne
Rachael Spence
Dinea Smith
Chloe
Thornae
Gemma Seltzer
Rogerio C. Rocha
John Frewin
Playlab NYC
Susanna Italiano
Robbie Klein
Brittany Fowler
Giulietta Driver
Paul Ryan
Erick Buckley
Cheyney Kent
Maureen Edmonds
Anthony Christou
J Sherman
Regina Mendes
Benjamin Crisp
David Lockwood
Andrew Paine
Caroline Williams
Tom William
Dominic Crisp
Maddy
Emma Attwell
Patton Hindle
Daniel Sharp
Franz Böhm
Alexander Hawson
Peter Verweij
Caitlin Blanchard
Stephen Walrond
Elyse Mallouk
Michael
Mariel Harari & Alicia Lim