Last May, a major milestone in disability representation in opera occurred in the gym of the University of Nebraska at Omaha when it played host to the world premiere of Sensorium Ex. With music by Paola Prestini and a text by Brenda Shaughnessy, the piece explores questions of consent, individuality, caregiving, as well as the difference between humans and artificial intelligence in a post-apocalyptic setting.
However, what makes this opera truly noteworthy is its large cast featuring a majority of performers with apparent and not apparent disabilities. Several performers identify as being blind as well as having autism and ambulatory CP, among other disabilities. What makes this work truly remarkable is that the creative team was willing to think outside of the way opera is traditionally performed in order to give the performers what they needed to do their best work. Obviously, there is more work to be done and the production process for this world premiere leaves some room for improvement, but Sensorium Ex is nonetheless a trailblazing work. In the interest of full disclosure, I was involved in the production.
My role was to observe the production process, taking notes on the various accommodations for the disabled performers. Paying as much attention to what did not work as to what did, I recently sat down with Paola Prestini and after reminiscing on the productions many high points for inclusion. We fondly remembered the dinner on the eve of opening night showed me just how many people with disabilities were involved in this production. Prestini then shared her thoughts as to what made this production possible and how Sensorium Ex serves as a bellwether for where the opera industry is in terms of disability inclusion and where it needs to go.
To begin with, the fact that the premiere took place at the Common Senses Festival in Omaha is telling. The festival, which explores the role disability plays across the many genres of the performing arts, is run by parents of a child with autism. Unfortunately, mainstream opera companies like the Metropolitan Opera, are still hesitant to showcase performers with disabilities because they don’t know what accommodations can look like. According to Prestini, she learned rather quickly that if a performer requires a caregiver for their daily life then that caregiver should be on stage to be with the performer as the caregiver understands best how to make the performer comfortable so that they can do their best work.
Inherent in the need for out-of-the-box thinking is Prestini’s belief that disability inclusive opera is not suited to the confines of the traditional opera house. This presents some difficulty because traditional performing arts institutions like New York City’s Lincoln Center can provide branding and recognition for a new opera which is important in order to secure future performances. This is a question that the opera world will have to grapple with. Lastly, what makes Sensorium Ex unique is the addition of a codex which will provide open-source materials so that other companies will know how to perform Sensorium Ex and other operas with maximum input from the disability community. Documentation is of utmost importance in this kind of work. Not only to show that it can be done but to show how it can be accomplished in a way that’s beneficial to everyone involved. Prestini believes that organizing the codex is the first step towards another production. After all, documentation will lead to greater representation, which in turn will foster greater empathy for the disability community. That is the power of opera.