From June 21st, 2023, for three days, Keiichiro Shibuya’s Android Opera®︎ “MIRROR” was performed at the Paris Châtelet Theater and concluded with great success.

Centered around Alter 4, the stage was set up with Shibuya playing the piano and electronic sounds, a 47-member Orchestra Appassionato, five monks chanting the Koyasan Shomyo, and visuals by Justine Emard, a French artist well-acquainted with Shibuya. Amidst the global attention on androids and AI, the cutting-edge musical art created by humans and AI garnered attention from French media, with many TV stations, radio channels, and newspapers coming for coverage. Out of the 12 songs, three performances, referred to as “Recitativo,” involved interactions between Alter 4, the Shomyo, and electronic sounds, overwhelming many French audiences. Alter 4 created an unprecedented musical experience by improvising melodies to lyrics made by GPT, or AI, while listening to the Shomyo and electronic sounds. The performance attracted audiences of all ages, with some young people mentioning that it was their first time visiting the Châtelet Theater to watch the Android Opera. A part of the performance video was recently released (https://youtu.be/F-vC0D7WRZM), and the full video is scheduled to be released around February 2024 as part of the online streaming program “STAGEBEYONDBORDERS” on the Japan Foundation’s official YouTube channel.
 
For the full live report, click here.