After he heard on the news that Alan Turing had been posthumously pardoned by the British Crown, composer Pierre Jodlowski decided to explore his life and work in more detail. A few years later, this research took the form of the chamber opera Alan T., a composition dealing with the relationship between man, machine, and society. Alan Turing, a mathematician and cryptologist who revolutionised the field of computing and artificial intelligence, was convicted of homosexuality in 1952 and subjected to chemical castration. Owing to social ostracism and rejection by scientific circles, he died at the age of 42, under circumstances that as yet remain unexplained.
By means of rhythmic clashes, distorted sounds of the human voice and the sharp timbre of instruments, in the opera Alan T. Pierre tells the story of the duality of Turing’s destiny – that of a genius, as well as a victim of condemnation, and, of a man in opposition to the mechanical. Through a fragmentary narrative, the libretto by Frank Witzel portrays Turing in the last moments of his life, as he revisits in his mind his childhood, scientific work, and persecution. Turing is played by Thomas Hauser, while Joanna Freszel voices the supporting characters – Turing’s mother, a colleague from Bletchley Park, and the doctor’s daughter. The stage consists of two spaces: Turing’s apartment, his personal space, is in the background. Ahead is the Machine – a high-tech installation of computers, screens, cables and – the performers themselves. Surrounded by sounds, lights and video panels, their avatars loom above them, which they control themselves. The singer brings together two worlds: through dialogue, she becomes part of Turing’s world, and through song, part of the Machine.
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The five musicians-operators are members of the Belgian
Nadar Ensemble, a group that takes an adventurous and critical approach to contemporary issues with the help of new technologies.
Composer and multimedia artist
Pierre Jodlowski combines acoustic and electronic sound, with an emphasis on drama, politics, and the contemporary, electroacoustic, jazz and rock scene.
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Pierre Jodlowski, composer, concept and direction
Frank Witzel, libretto
Claire Saint-Blancat, scenography
Martina Stütz, dramaturgy
Joanna Freszel, soprano
Thomas Hauser, actor
Nadar Ensemble:
Winnie Huang, violin
Katrien Gaelens, flute
Dries Tack, clarinet
Thomas Moore, trombone
Kobe Van Cauwenberghe, guitar
Yann Philippe, camera live
Matthieu Guillin, camera live
Kamil Keska, sound
Thomas Goepfer, computer music designer (IRCAM)
Manuel Poletti, computer music designer (IRCAM)
Claire Daulion, construction
Olivier Mannoni, translation
Compagnie éOle – création musicale et interdisciplinaire, delegate producer
Co-commissioned by: Compagnie éOle, Ircam-Centre Pompidou, Philharmonie de Paris
Coproduction: Ircam-Centre Pompidou, SWR Classic - Donaueschinger Musiktage, Warsaw Autumn Festival, Music Centre De Bijloke (Ghent)
With the special support of: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland
And supported by: SACEM, CNM, Fonds franco-germano-suisse pour la musique contemporaine / Impuls neue Musik, the Flemish Community, Bureau Export, Occitanie en Scène, Odyssud Ville de Blagnac, DRAC Midi-Pyrénées, Région Occitanie, Ville de Toulouse and Conseil Général de la Haute-Garonne
Tour supported by SACEM, with the French Institute and Onda as part of the call for projects "The Art of Reprise"
Computer part of the work produced in Ircam-Centre Pompidou’s studios
supported by the Embassy of Poland in the Republic of Croatia and the Flemish Government
