Back to the Creature: Characters and Casting in AI-Based Opera

This paper examines the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on recent operatic practice, exploring its potential to affect the development of the genre from the artist’s perspective. While opera has historically evolved in tandem with technological advancements, the integration of AI raises important questions about its function within the operatic toolbox and its relation to the genre’s core principles and cultural background. The paper argues that AI, rather than replacing human performers in opera, can be employed as an auxiliary that enhances the portrayal of operatic characters. By probing AI’s contribution to the generation of librettos, real-time performance interactions, and the transformation of operatic character portrayal, questions about how AI can support the live, corporeal nature of opera emerge. It is suggested that AI-based opera revitalises mythological themes by casting AI agents as non-natural or supernatural entities, thus altering the scope of operatic fiction in comparison to existing trends. Ultimately, the paper posits that AI may serve to bridge traditional operatic fundamentals with contemporary culture and societal anxieties relating to the new technology itself.