Description:

Opera House lane is an underutilised site overshadowed and by the Opera House provides back door access and then serves as a simple shortcut for those who notice it. What if we used comedic design strategies here to enhance the users’ relationships to the site? Perhaps if we take the premise of ordinary objects that already exist within sight, like lights? Posters? Plumping? And turn these into Opera Singers. An Opera just for Opera House Lane and all of the people of Wellington CBD. I have designed six different characters that each occupy the space to engage with an audience and make them laugh.

Opera House Lane is a difficult site to Activate. But L’Opera Buffa proposes an activation that responds to the physical site, by the nature of the design of the characters, to the opera House by performing a new opera and using that medium as its punchline. So instead of a dingy lane of manners it is an Opera for the people of Wellington physically performed as “the city of wellington.” A gem in the heart of the city.

These Characters then replace some of the objects within the space or sit along next to them, hiding in plain sight spread throughout the lane. Plus, Additional locations allow the space to perform at all times across the space. At the same time, each character gets their moment to shine, and the collective of animatronic performers all sing and dance together.