XS: The Opera, Shakespeare Theatre, Boston was the final production and consisted of three soprano singers, 4 trumpets, six electric guitars. bass, drums, 35 mm slide projection and dance. The duration was 90 minutes. Choreography: Yves Musard, 35 mm cross-fade art slides: Joseph Nechvatal
Musicians: Rhys Chatham (conductor) with Pamela Fleming, Steven Haynes, Ben Neill, James O'Connor, David Wonsey, Karen Haglof, Robert Poss, Mitch Salmon, Bill Brovold, Tim Schellenbaum, Conrad Kinard, J.P., Peggy Ackerman, Jane Lawrence Smith, Elly Spiegel.
Centre Pompidou recognition
The history of XS was included with an XS Exemplification sound slideshow in the No Wave art exhibition Who You Staring At?: Visual culture of the no wave scene in the 1970s and 1980s at Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2023.[7] A video documenting the Centre Pompidou, Paris March 8th, 2023 event XS: The Opera Opus: An Operatic Transvaluation of No Wave Aesthetics by Joseph Nechvatal and Rhys Chatham was held and has been published online at the Centre Pompidou website.[8]
Performance history
XS: The Opera performance at the XS the Pyramid Club 1984
^Brian Butterick, Susan Martin, Kestutis Nakas (eds.), "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It, Damiani Books, p. 320
^[1]Who You Staring At?: Visual culture of the no wave scene in the 1970s and 1980s, February 1 – June 19, 2023
^[2] Projection and discussion of XS: The Opera Opus An Operatic Transvaluation of No Wave Aesthetics by Joseph Nechvatal and Rhys Chatham March 8, 2023
Brian Butterick, Susan Martin, Kestutis Nakas (eds.), "We Started a Nightclub": The Birth of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge as Told by Those Who Lived It, Damiani Books, p. 320
Further reading
Paula Court, New York Noise: Art and Music from the New York Underground 1978-88 (2007) Soul Jazz Records
