Trust in the You of Now is a three part multi-media chamber opera. It is the story of two future astronauts stuck in a spaceship hovering above an unlivable earth that has been taken over by sentient robots, killing drones and a new post-nuclear species of frogs. It explores the meaning of creation and the effects of technological advancement on human society.
Trust in the You of Now is performed by a live eight-member orchestra and two female opera singers. A narration is delivered by of-stage voices, which are incorporated within the score and modern dancers perform movement and pantomime to communicate the stage action. The story follows an epic battle between two robots to control the lives of a frog civilization over several millennia. The songs are presented in the undecipherable languages of the robots and frogs respectively and translated by astronaut onlookers.
Each part of the three-part opera utilizes different mediums, shifting focus to reveal specific facets of the story. The first part, was presented by Theater for the New City and Ouroboros Co. in May 2014, the love affair of Willie Willie, a gifted frog, and Fictor, a popular sentient robot, whom encounter the rage of the killing drone robots that control their society.
Trust in the You of Now: Part One
an original chamber opera composed by Robert Boston
libretto by Kimberly Pau
choreography by Giada Ferrone
directed by Eric Mercado & Kimberly Pau
photography by KiKi Larson