Dissecting Norton is a live combination of two improvised operas following independent graphic scores: Dissecting Adam, by Julia A. Miller, and I, Norton, by Gino Robair, take the shape of improvised collages governed by graphic timelines. They combine the use of hand cues, graphic scores, memory-based improvisational structures, and traditionally notated music.

I, Norton is an open-ended project—a perpetual work-in-progress—with additions made for each performance. Dissecting Adam is in a mesodermic phase of development, adding flesh to a metaphorical skeleton.  Both operas are performed simultaneously, combining and juxtaposing elements and characters from both I, Norton and Dissecting Adam, to reflect upon the larger whole. The combined effort merges the eccentricity within structure of I, Norton, and the perspective of physicality elucidated by Dissecting Adam.

The operas reflect the use of traditional musical instruments as well as ancient, adapted, or hacked technology, invented instruments and performative objects, and the incorporation of the visual and physical into the sonic.  Interpretation of environment and the interrelatedness of participants and audience in situ results in the unexpected yet couth—the living, breathing, physical manifestation of wild imagination from the humble beginnings of order.

Photography by Lara Dorsett unless otherwise credited. Video editing and website by AesPop.

Improvised Opera Workshop Cast:
Julia A. Miller, composer/guitarist/voice Barbara Ann Martin, voice Ryan T Dunn, Emperor/Adam/video Coppice (Noé Cuéllar & Joseph Kramer) Eric Leonardson, springboard Reid Karris, prepared guitar Janice Mitchell, flute/voice Dan Godston, trumpet Guillermo Gregorio, clarinet Jason Raynovich, cello Sarah J. Ritch, cello Mark Hardy, electric lyre and tapes Enid Smith, dancer	Gino Robair, composer/conductor Becca Brown, voice Mark Baldridge, False Decrier Kg Price, percussion/drumset Greg O’Drobinak, electronics/recording engineer Jon Hey, ARP Quartet/Yamaha CP-30 Christopher Preissing, flute/electronics Ben Lamar, trumpet Clifton Ingram, clarinet/guitar Nomi Epstein, violin, objects, voice Agnes Kline, cello Kimberley Sutton, cello/bass lyre Melissa Sanchez, dancer

Mise-en-scène
Julia A. Miller Dissecting Adam The opera relates the existence of 111 year old Evelyn, whose life spans three centuries, having been born in 1899 and dying in 2011. Her story is interpreted by an ensemble of solo female voices. Generationally, the singers individually represent eras of Evelyn’s life, providing a skeletal frame for the exploration of the evolutionary archetype through her relationship to the male figures in her life (collectively known as “Adam”). Her lifetime provides the construct for artistic collaboration and exploration of other themes including (but not limited to) the word play on “adam” (human being, here translated as man) and the feminine “adamah” (ground, soil), and the ancient Chinese practice of using oracle bones for divination.		Gino Robair I, Norton The opera takes place during the Emperor’s final moments, as he lay dying on a rain-soaked street. The sound and images in each performance act as a metaphor for his life flashing before his eyes— events overlap and appear in fragments, often repeated and exaggerated. As a result, there is no linear storytelling involved; portions of the Emperor’s life are revealed through each realization of the piece.