Le 12 février 2026 de 14h30 à 16h, dans le cadre du séminaire de recherche donné par le cochercheur Jonathan Goldman, la musicologue Jelena Novak donnera une conférence intitulée « Liminal Singing. Opera in the Expanded Field ». L’événement aura lieu au local B-421 de la Faculté de musique de l’Université de Montréal. Voici le résumé de la conférence :
In 1979, Rosalind Krauss published her seminal essay, ‘Sculpture in the Expanded Field.’ In it, she responded to the emergence of postmodern sculptural practices and their departure from the formalist frame, offering a radical redefinition of sculpture by positioning it between architecture and landscape. Theorizing the world of contemporary opera today, I find that Krauss’s concept remains a powerful catalyst for discussing a discipline ‘beyond itself’. In my work, I illuminate several ways in which opera transcends its traditional boundaries—moving beyond drama, beyond liveness, and beyond the physical opera house. I further examine its expansion beyond the human voice, the composer, the West, and, ultimately, beyond the ‘operatic’ itself.
To illustrate this transition, I draw on works ranging from the foundational shifts of Einstein on the Beach and Andriessen’s Rosa, to the technological and environmental innovations of Michel van der Aa, The Industry, and the creators of opera/installation Sun and Sea. The field expands further through the conceptual re-mappings of Marina Abramović and Marko Nikodijević, Manthia Diawara, and the Sahel Opera, ultimately reaching the non-human frontiers explored by Marguerite Humeau in “The Opera of Prehistoric Creatures” or with “Singing Machine” by Martin Riches. Through these diverse examples, I propose a broader discussion on why—now more than ever—it is important to sing today.