Introduction

“Introduction: Opera and Participation” defines, clarifies, and expands upon the term “participatory opera” and positions participatory elements in relation to traditional opera and alternative forms of operatic experimentation. This chapter problematizes popular signifiers of the operatic genre relative to participatory experimentation and explores the myriad possibilities surrounding the roles of authorship and performance inherent in opera. It identifies and characterizes key elements of participatory opera and situates them within a theoretical framework, providing the reader with a loose set of tools with which to identify participatory opera. By doing so, this introduction presents concepts of participation in opera that will serve as a foundation for later chapters, revealing that participatory elements may manifest sonically (by the fragmentation and dissemination of composed music, improvisation by performers or spectators, or group singing), physically (through dispersed environments, fragmented spectatorship, and/or dancing spectators), or methodologically (whereas audience members become curators, collectors, filmmakers, and authors).