Chicago’s Lyric Opera is looking for talented young artists to sample vintage opera recordings in order to create their own remixed track. RogerEbert.com’s publisher, Chaz Ebert, is on the board of the Lyric Opera and said she is especially excited about this opportunity to extend opera participation to a younger audience in a very creative way. “Sometimes thinking outside of the box results in some pretty magical moments in the arts and the Lyric Unlimited Committee works diligently to achieve these moments,” she said.
The Opera Remix contest encourages young artists to chop, mix, loop, or warp original recordings as they please — whatever it takes to remix their work to its operatic heights. The winner will receive a cash prize of $250 and four complimentary tickets to the world premiere of “The Factotum” at the Harris Theater in February. Participants can submit their music at this link.
Lyric Opera of Chicago’s premiere of “The Factotum” is inspired by Rossini’s classic “The Barber of Seville,” with the setting and musical stylings of a present-day Black barbershop in Chicago. According to the official Lyric Opera site, Grammy-nominated baritone Will Liverman has joined producer/DJ/multi-instrumentalist DJ King Rico in creating this new work commissioned by Lyric. “The Factotum blends diverse musical styles with boundless imagination to create a soul opera, moving from gospel and funk to rap, hip-hop, classic barbershop quartet, and R&B,” reads the Lyric’s synopsis. “Those styles connect brilliantly with classical singing in a very human comedy that redefines everything that opera can be.”
Young artists who wish to participate in the Lyric’s Opera Remix contest must live in the greater Chicago area. Teens between the ages of 13-18 are allowed to apply. Anyone under 18 must have parent or guardian consent. Track submissions must be uploaded to YouTube, SoundCloud, or other music streaming platforms with the necessary access settings. The submitted track must be at least one minute in length and no longer than four minutes, and cannot include additional samples from other songs other than the four provided by Lyric. Finalists must be able to provide the full audio file upon request.
For more information, please contact Lyric Unlimited at [email protected].
