The Real Me

The Real Me is a 22-minute one act chamber opera for five voices, piano, clarinet, cello, and percussion. The opera responds to and take inspiration from reality television socialite culture and in particular the idea of the 'reunion' where cast members are forced to debate and navigate months of personal relationships. The work asks: how can contemporary opera draw on popular contemporary forms to inform its construction and aesthetic. This work expands the traditional form of opera through its musical and lyrical content. The lyrical content draws on the dichotomy of 'real' and 'fake' in the socialite television universe. All characters are questioned regarding their motives, actions and emotions. Through singing, the characters reveal their inner selves while also performing a desired persona in front of the camera. The music is part of this process in the work as well, moving between highly organised, rhythmic moments, with gentle moments performed out of time suggesting a spectrum of produced and unproduced moments. In this way the ideas and traditional structures of opera (recitative and aria) are extended and developed through 21st century media forms.