Last updated African American Performance Artist Mem Nahadr as "Madwoman"
Madwoman: A Contemporary Opera (also known as Madwoman) is an opera - performance art work created by the American performance artist and composer Mem Nahadr (also known as M). It depicts a series of compositions, "M-mination" from a woman with Albinism, deemed a "Madwoman" by society because of her depth of understanding and unconditional Self Acceptance. This art piece is presented in an interactive multimedia installation of space, UV light, 5.1 surround sound, items, images and concepts. This installation includes a one-woman live performance by Mem Nahadr, and stands as a sculptured interactive artpiece otherwise.
Opera is a form of theatre in which music has a leading role and the parts are taken by singers, but is distinct from musical theater. Such a "work" is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor.
Performance art is a performance presented to an audience within a fine art context, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated, spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or via media; the performer can be present or absent. It can be any situation that involves four basic elements: time, space, the performer's body, or presence in a medium, and a relationship between performer and audience. Performance art can happen anywhere, in any type of venue or setting and for any length of time. The actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time constitute the work.
Mem Nahadr, also known as M. Nahadr and simply "M", is an American performance artist and multi-octave vocalist best known for the performance of the song "Butterfly", composed by Yoko Kanno and lyricized by Chris Mosdell for Cowboy Bebop. She is also an author, composer, poet, filmmaker, and human rights activist.
Supported by a team of artists and technicians, this presentation includes a multimedia system created by James P. Nichols, Broadway, Jazz and Grammy Award Winning Producer/Engineer; as well as Creative - Stage Direction by Claude E. Sloan, Jr., of the LOEB Drama Center Experimental Theater at Harvard, and the New York Shakespeare Festival at the Public Theater.
James P. Nichols is a recording industry executive producer and master engineer.
Album cover for the opera was photographed by the famed fashion photographer and Human Rights organizational founder, Rick Guidotti of Positive Exposure.
An excerpt from the Madwoman opera was performed before Queen Beatrix of Holland during the 25th annual Veerstichting Symposium at the St. Pieterskerk church in Lieden, The Netherlands.
The Veerstichting is a Dutch non-profit foundation that was established in 1978 by a group of students who longed for a different kind of interaction with people whom they saw as modellers of society. They felt the need for an inspirational venue to act as catalyst for the exchange of ideas and experiences. The response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic and as a result their movement gained momentum and materialised into a yearly symposium organised by a board of five students, guided by two different advisory boards.
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