TELEKINETIK

Catapult Opera’s first opera digital short commission of 2024 was awarded to multi-hyphenate, Chicago-based artist, Khary Laurent. Entitled “Telekinetik”, it was released on March 7. Laurent is a classically trained baritone, having received his M.Mus. in vocal performance from Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. The short was directed by George Cederquist, and stars Khary Laurent and Fresnel Laurent.

In this 10-minute work, a would-be vigilante, tortured by a telepathic shaman, learns a difficult lesson about justice versus bloodlust, as told through the “hip-hopera” stylings of the daring composer, Khary Laurent. “Telekinetik” explores the intersection of hip-hop and opera.

Catapult’s Artistic Director Neal Goren first became acquainted with Laurent’s work in 2021, when a colleague sent him an extraordinary digital opera short, starring and produced by Laurent, entitled Corsair. He still considers it to be the best amalgamation of opera and hip hop that he has ever encountered. You can see for yourself here. 

While hip-hop is basically a spoken art form (albeit rhythmic), and opera a sung art form, Laurent, with his operatic training, explores the dichotomy of the two art forms and how they can interact.

The question of the boundaries of speech and song is nothing new to music. 19th-century recitative has long been described as heightened speech, and Schoenberg’s 20th-century invention of Sprechstimme were both contemporary explorations into this question. Please join us on March 11, 2024 in an online viewing party, as Khary Laurent and Neal Goren explore the 21st century edges of this boundary.