Face It

Program note

The new composition by Danny de Graan called Face It is a mini opera which deals with the phenomenon of social media.

With the aid of a Disklavier, electronics, video and the soprano Stephanie Pan, de Graan tells a story of a woman named Erica Albright, who comes in contact with Facebook for the first time. In the course of the story, Erica loses herself in her virtual social scene, but soon discovers that it isn't all that she thought it to be.

The libretto of this mini opera finds its origin in original quotes by members of Facebook, combined with text by de Graan.The Disklavier (a computer controlled piano) only plays material that is derived from the voice of the singer, Stephanie Pan. This give the illusion that the piano can actually talk.Therefore the Disklavier is, in fact, the second character of the mini opera.