# Opera singer grows algae during performance



## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Or the precise headline which would not fit above:

Opera singer grows algae on her face by feeding it with her breath and then the audience eats it.









No, what you're looking at is not some kind of lost prop from an old Alien movie. Rather, it's part of an After Agri performance that was showcased at the recently concluded Digital Design Weekend at the V&A. During the art-piece, the head-mounted, face-clinging device was worn by an opera singer who used her breath to feed algae with carbon dioxide. Later, the audience was encouraged to "taste her song."

Called the Algae Opera, artists Michiko Nitta and Michael Burton, along with mezzo-soprano Louise Ashcroft, intended to show how biotechnology can be used to transform organisms in a unique and creative way.

Because the algae's growth is dependent on the amount of CO2 it receives, the singer controlled her pitch and volume to alter various characteristics of the algae, including taste (what they called "sonic enhancement"). Depending on the way she sang, the different pitches and frequencies could make the food taste either bitter or sweet.

And at the end of the performance, the audience was able to sample some of the algae - what the event organizers consider to be an important future food.


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## crmoorhead (Apr 6, 2011)

Lol This ranks up among the strangest things I have ever heard.... and that's saying something!


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## principe (Sep 3, 2012)

Impressive, albeit distasteful!
Interesting (idea) though repulsive (to conceive it).
Educational. However, bizarre!
What else?

Principe


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

I can't imagine that enough algae would grow during a 1-3 hour performance to feed anyone.
If it does, that adds a level of "eewwww" to even thinking about it.

Do you think high pitches are sweet or bitter?
Does algae produced by a bass taste completely different?
Could wind instruments produce the same product?

I have all kinds of questions that I would like someone else to find out.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Yet another reason not to like opera.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I suppoise if theis weird project is successful you'll be able to call it a Horatio Algae story !


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Boy are my ifngers sloppy ! Let me rewrite it . I suppose if this werid project is successful , you'll be able to call it a Horatio Algae story !


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

This is another reminder of why I dislike most 'conceptual art' type stuff.

In any case, mother nature is better. The Murray River in Australia has in recent decades had outbreaks of blue-green algae. More photogentic (aesthetic?) I think. But its no laughing matter, and not just entertainment for art loving city folk but a real concern to the people who need the river for water (eg. farmers).


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Ah the joys of opera! Isn't it just delicious?


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

My local university has an algae lab in the basement of the music building. I can envision all sorts of synergistic collaborations! 
This particular lab is studying algae as a source for aviation fuel for the US Air Force.

On a unrelated but more disgusting note, I've been reading recently on line about maggots in clarinet and sax mouthpieces.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Lunasong said:


> On a unrelated but more disgusting note, I've been reading recently on line about maggots in clarinet and sax mouthpieces.


Wow! I was at a clinic with Harvey Pittell back in the '70s, and at one point he took off a student's mouthpiece so he could play his horn. When he looked at the student's mouthpiece he shot him a stare so searing, I can still remember it.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

I've made a new thread for wind instrument grossness as the algae in this thread is intentional.
http://www.talkclassical.com/21853-not-safe-lunch.html#post368820


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

You know on this one, you need three choices: yes, no, and hell no.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

_"Depending on the way she sang, the different pitches and frequencies could make the food taste either bitter or sweet."_

First off, tautology alert. Next, absolute nonsense.


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## Stargazer (Nov 9, 2011)

Ok that's just plain gross lol. And I think that the "bitter or sweet" part depends more on how much of her saliva gets mixed in with the algae than what pitch she sings at.

On a side note, micro-algae does have incredible potential that I believe can help solve many of the world's problems, I did some in-depth research on it as an undergrad. That said, I think that this is absolutely one of the worst ways to go about promoting it lol, and you won't find me eating it anytime soon!


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