Android Opera is an innovative operatic work in which an android performs as the singer, merging orchestra, piano, electronic sound, visual imagery, and Shōmyō—a form of Buddhist chant with a 1,200-year history. It is a work in which all boundaries—between human and technology, East and West, tradition and innovation, life and death—interpenetrate and dissolve, proposing a new model of harmony while dismantling existing frameworks.
MIRROR has previously been presented at the Dubai Expo, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and in Tokyo. In this newly developed version, “Deconstruction and Rebirth,” the work further dismantles its own structure to radically re-examine the very boundary between life and death, offering a renewed vision of hope and possibility in the relationship between human beings and technology.
On stage, Android Maria, modeled after Shibuya’s late wife, appears for the first time and performs as the singer. The production brings together a 62-member special orchestra led by concertmaster Tatsuki Narita, four monks from Mount Kōya led by Eizen Fujiwara performing Shōmyō, electronic sound, and real-time AI dialogue—distinct elements that merge into an organic whole. As a special guest, Grammy Award–winning bassist Charlotte Kemp Muhl also appears, collaborating with Shibuya, Android Maria, and the monks in a striking cross-disciplinary performance.
LATEST NEWS
01.15
2026
Android Opera “MIRROR – Deconstruction and Rebirth” to premiere this May at Osaka Festival Hall, with Keiichiro Shibuya and Android Maria appearing at the press conference.
01.14
2026
Keiichiro Shibuya served as the music and sound producer for POLA SALON+ AOYAMA, where the sound installation work “Abstract Music” has been permanently installed. The spatial design was produced by Kazuyo Sejima.
01.14
2026
ATAK Academy launches with its first session on Saturday, January 17, featuring Hidetaka Ishida’s lecture, “Art in the Age of AI — The Grammatology of Android Opera.”
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