The Opera Remix competition encourages young artists to chop, mix, loop and warp the original recordings however they like. The winner will receive $250 in prize money and four free tickets to the world premiere of “The Factotum.” at the Harris Theater in February. Participants can submit music through this link.
Premiering in Chicago, the lyric opera of “The Factotum” is inspired by Rossini’s classic “The Barber of Seville” and features the setting and musical style of a modern Chicago black barber shop. According to Lyric Opera’s official website, his Grammy-nominated baritone Will Liverman has created this new work commissioned by Lyric, along with producer/DJ/multi-instrumentalist DJ King Rico. “From gospel and funk to rap, hip-hop, classic barber his shop he quartet and R&B, The Factotum fuses diverse musical styles with boundless imagination to create soul opera.” and read an overview of Lyric. “These styles are a deeply human comedy that redefines all that is possible in opera, and are beautifully combined with classical singing.”
Young GuaArtists wishing to enter the Lyric’s Opera Remix Contest must live in the Chicago area. Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 can apply. Those under the age of 18 must have parental or guardian consent. Track submissions must be uploaded to YouTube, SoundCloud, or other music streaming platform with the required access settings. Submitted track Must be between 1 minute and 4 minutes in length. You may not include additional samples from other songs than the 4 songs provided by Lyric. Finalists must be able to provide complete audio files upon request.
For more information, contact Lyric Unlimited at lyricunlimited@lyricopera.org.