London’s Royal Opera House to Perform Twitter Opera

Just when I thought an Elton John/Alice in Chains collaboration was the most unlikely musical pairing of the day, a freakin’ Twitter opera comes across my screen (via The Daily Swarm). London’s Royal Opera House is planning a performance based on tweets sent to the director, LA Times’ David Colker reports.

“We’re investigating how short, 140-character contributions can build upon each other to create a non-linear narrative,” the ROH said of the Opera/Twitter mashup. Don’t know about your Twitter feed, but mine suggests they won’t have trouble keeping this story “non-linear.”

You can check out updates on the Opera, which is set to premiere next month, on the official Royal Opera House WordPress (yes, they have a blog too). Here’s one plot update they’ve posted: “In brief, at the end of Act One, Scene One, William is languishing in a tower, having been kidnapped by a group of birds who are anxious for revenge after he has killed one of their number.” Where are all the @s and #s and twitpics?

This sounds like a bit too much of a stunt for me, but I’ve never actually been to an opera, so whatevs. Personally, I think the Hamlet Facebook project sounds more promising.