Music Lifts the Soul
Like most of you, I’ve been on an emotional roller coaster ride. Some days, I feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the suffering now and which is yet to come, yet other days, I feel that all will be well. Staying home can be claustrophobic, but it does not have to be so, as we are lucky to live in an age of connectivity. I’m honing my hitherto non-existent skills at Zooming, Facetiming, and Airdropping; as well as good old fashioned skills like writing, walking (weather permitting), and trying to keep connected to friends and family while practicing social distancing.
White Snake Projects: An Activist Opera Company
2018 has been a year of exploring, learning and building the vision of who we are, what we want to be and how to get there. We want to be an activist opera company–one that integrates social activism and original opera; partners with other activists to cross-promote important social issues and opera, and redefines how opera is made by involving young people from our community.
Activist Blog: “Brain Power of Students”
In a rapidly evolving world, opera remains a powerfully timeless form of expression. PermaDeath took themes of classic opera as its vehicle to capture modern ideas that captivate today’s youth.
Activist Blog: “I Am Not Your Typical Opera Patron”
I am not your typical opera patron. I’m a sophomore in high school, and although I often profess my love for musical theatre, it is in reference to the works of Lin-Manuel Miranda as opposed those of Verdi and Puccini.
Activist Blog: “A New Door Into the World of Opera”
When I imagined opera I had the image of a lady in a Viking helmet trying to break glass with her high notes. But I could not have been farther from the truth. PermaDeath was nothing I would have expected.
A BIG Thank you to all!
Thank you for taking a risk with us by supporting PermaDeath as audience members, donors, hosts, volunteers, creators, artists, panel members, and well-wishers. As I look back over PermaDeath, the most challenging production we’ve ever done, I’m filled with wonder at how we managed to do it!
Dress Rehearsal Videos
Composer Dan Visconti took a few videos during this week’s dress rehearsals.
“It’s the night before the big night.”
“It’s the night before the big night,” so the entire ensemble sings in Scene 6 of PermaDeath as they contemplate the Tournament of Death that they’ll be fighting in the next day. A sleepless night for all. It’s the night before the big night for the artistic and creative team of PermaDeath and we can’t […]
PermaDeath on Boston 25 News
Segment originally aired September 25, 2018 on Boston 25 News.
Meet Team Phoebus
The voices behind Team Phoebus take a break from rehearsals to speak with us about PermaDeath’s technology, video games, and their love of baking.
Orchestra Rehearsal
It’s orchestra rehearsal time! It’s always so exciting to hear the colors and dynamism of the composer’s vision in action. Dan Visconti has created a kaleidoscope of sounds and effects, mixing electronics, courtesy of sound designer Mat Solomon, with acoustic instruments and natural voices.
A Note from PermaDeath Director Sam Helfrich
Technology is everywhere: in front of our eyes, at our fingertips, and all around us, delivering information, news, romance, friendship, and a massive amount of entertainment. Every day new advances in technology mean the world is moving faster and faster.
A Note from PermaDeath Composer Dan Visconti
Why are we here, and what happens when we die?
Get to Know Maggie Finnegan
I’d like to introduce you to our new Sonny–Maggie Finnegan–who has graciously stepped in for Rachele Gilmore, who had to withdraw unexpectedly. Maggie was selected after a nationwide search for a coloratura and we’re so lucky to have her.
“If I can do this, you can too.”
Summer! What a sweet and savory word combining the umami of the seasons. We who live in New England wait all year for this. As I write, we’re deep into the heart of summer, and I’m trying to steal a little time to savor the clear blue skies and green hills.
How to use PermaDeath’s Companion App
Have you downloaded the companion app to PermaDeath yet? Created by students from Becker College, the app allows you to further explore the PermaDeath world and its characters. Each character has its own icon–we call them triggers–that you can find on our website and in the show’s program.
PermaDeath’s Superhero
There’s been a lot of excitement and hoopla, (all justifiably so), over the technical achievements of our team of faculty and students from RISD, Becker, and Lesley, in the creation of the cutting edge tech and animation of PermaDeath.
Dan Visconti and Cerise Jacobs’s Video Game Opera, PermaDeath, Joins Conversation about ALS, Partnering with Compassionate Care ALS
Composer Dan Visconti and creator-librettist Cerise Jacobs’s video game opera, PermaDeath, is a groundbreaking work containing an intricate web of theater, music, and cutting-edge technology. But the elaborate technical aspects of the piece are all in the service of a story about one central human character: a gaming enthusiast named Sonny, who is grappling with the pain and motor control loss of the early stages of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
“There are similarities between opera and video games.”
You watched our first preview video about the PermaDeath story, now learn about PermaDeath’s technology!
Tickets on Sale Today, May 15, for Creator and Librettist Cerise Jacobs’s Video Game Opera PermaDeath, Composed by Dan Visconti
Tickets go on sale today for the latest brainchild of creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs, the video game opera PermaDeath. Hailed by Opera magazine as “intrepid and artistically ambitious,” Jacobs is quickly establishing a body of original operatic work that blends two of her great passions, myth and technology, in compelling and relevant contemporary stories. PermaDeath, her most technologically sophisticated work to date, premieres at Boston’s Emerson Cutler Majestic Theater from September 27-29.
PermaDeath at PAX East
The White Snake Projects Team is recovering from PAX East 2018, the largest video game consumer event in the United States with over 100,000 people attending four days of gaming, demos, cosplay, and just plain fun!
Librettist Cerise Jacobs Collaborates with Visual Art and Technical Virtuosos for Video Game Opera PermaDeath
The latest undertaking for the “intrepid and artistically ambitious” (Opera magazine) creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs is the upcoming video game opera PermaDeath, premiering at Boston’s Cutler Majestic Theater on September 27-29 of this year.
First Look: PermaDeath
A preview of White Snake Projects’ upcoming opera, PermaDeath.
Librettist Cerise Jacobs Plunges into Gaming World for Video Game Opera PermaDeath, Composed by Dan Visconti
Creator and librettist Cerise Jacobs—hailed by Opera magazine as “intrepid and artistically ambitious”—is quickly establishing a body of original operatic work that blends two of her great passions, myth and technology, in compelling and relevant contemporary stories. Her latest venture, premiering at Boston’s Cutler Majestic Theater on September 27-29 of this year, is the video game opera PermaDeath, co-written with her son Pirate Epstein, founder of the video game company SqueePlay and a former New England Halo champion.
A Note from Cerise
I can’t believe we’re embarking on the music workshop of Dan Visconti’s PermaDeath at NEC!