David Beck
L'Opéra
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This short film showcases Beck's unique moving
sculpture, L'Opéra.
From 1993 to 1998, the sculptor David Beck devoted himself to the
production of a single work, L'Opéra. In
the sumptuous interior of an elaborate and lavish miniature opera house
more than six feet long and four feet high, a performance of Aida is
underway, watched by the casts of various other operas. As the curtain
rises, torchères burst into flames, the orchestra strikes their
tune, and the audience begins to sing along with the cast. To achieve
this spectacle David Beck carved more than two hundred figures,
animating them with an elaborate system of spindles, cogs, and motors
concealed beneath the floor of his building. The project involved the
use of a rich variety of materials including eight different woods,
copper sheeting, lacquer, brass, satin moiré, gold
leaf, gouache painting, eggshell, and marquetry. Packed with intricate
detail, hilarious vignettes, and multiple illusions to the operatic
repertoire, the sculpture is not only an inspired tribute to the art of
opera, but a complex, brilliantly crafted, and highly imaginative work
of art.
music composed and
arranged by
Bill
Noertker
and performed by
Annelise Zamula - flute
Ilana Matfis - viola
Tom Griesser - clarinet
Greg Stephens - trombone
Ara Anderson - glockenspiel
Dave Mihaly - marimba
Bill Noertker - contrabass
Henry Porter - timpani
music recorded, mixed, and
mastered
at Seal Rock Music
by David Norfleet

Detail of
box seats


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