Open Outcry is an opera originated by Alexis Kirke, and co-created by Alexis Kirke and Dr. Greg B. Davies. It was directed by Alessandro Talevi and is supported by Barclays, and has been created in partnership with Plymouth University. From the Daily Telegraph’s preview: “I call it a ‘reality opera’,” says Alexis Kirke, “because the singers decide when to open their mouths.” Singers can make real money trading a set of artificial stocks.
It has been featured by the Daily Telegraph twice, BBC Radio 4 Today programme, American national Public Radio, and the Canadian Broadcasting Company
From the Daily Telegraph preview: “However, they can only trade using short melodies I composed”, says Kirke, who has designed the melodies in such a way that when the singers are trading, their harmonies should express the emotions driving their market. ‘Open Outcry’ will feature 12 singers and a cellist, Joseph Spooner. The audience will sit at tables among the “traders”, and the conductor will ring a bell to signify the market opening. As the cellist plays, large screens will display stock information and the conductor will guide the reactions of the singers. The performers will sing one musical phrase to buy each assetand another to sell. The prices will be largely driven by random market movements generated by a computer model, though the conductor will have some power to manipulate stock prices, as will the effect of the “trading” between the singers themselves. At the end of the performance, the performers will be able to cash in their stocks to receive a bonus. Greg Davies says: “It’s a musical expression of economic behaviour and a functioning stock market. The music is generated spontaneously by the real-time behaviour of the singer/traders, directly reflecting the aggregation of their emotional responses to the market. Essentially, this is the market – what you will hear is how this market feels when it gains or loses money.”