The Superstorm Sandy has forced 2 of the scheduled 7 world-wide venues to cancel the premier performance of Auksalaq, multi-site, interactive opera about climate-change by composer Matthew Burtner and media artist Scott Deal.
According to a news article on The Weather Channel, “Sandy strengthened before dawn and stayed on a predicted path toward Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York — putting it on a collision course with two other weather systems that would create a superstorm with the potential for havoc over 800 miles from the East Coast to the Great Lakes. About 2 to 3 feet of snow were even forecast for mountainous parts of West Virginia.”
In a message from Matthew Burtner, he writes, “We live in a time of catastrophic climate shifts and it is increasingly the case that weather will disrupt events around the world. If anything, this cancellation of our venues makes the point of Auksalaq more present and powerful…”, and Auksalaq producer Scott Deal wrote, “I cannot help but see the irony of this event… an opera premier on climate change affected by a physical characteristic that scientists have been warning us about for years: increasingly erratic and extreme weather. A prophetic birth if there ever was one.”
In response to the physical challenges caused by the storm, the premier of Auksalaq will now be streamed worldwide. To watch the real-time broadcast, please join us at http://www.auksalaq.org on Monday 10/29/12 at 4:45pm Eastern Standard Time, and select a streaming option. The producers will offer a choice of options for different venue sizes and network bandwidth capabilities. The links will go live just before the performance which begins at 5pm on Monday.