Between April 1-7, 2024 I have had an honor to observe and assist Prof. Anna Gawboy, PhD (Ohio State University) in the realization of a lighted performance of Alexander Scriabin’s (1872–1915) "Prometheus, Poem of Fire", Op. 60 with Boston Symphony Orchestra directed by Andris Nelsons, in collaboration with Matthew Deinhart, light design. The three performances took place on April 4-6, 2024 at the Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Scriabin’s "Prometheus" includes a counterpoint of two lighting parts: the ambient atmospheric effects, encompassing the entire space (the slow luce), as well as a notated part for tastiera per luce, a [silent] keyboard instrument for light capable of projecting twelve colors, dynamic shading, and special effects (the fast luce). Scriabin was not able to achieve his vision of a “symphony of tone counterpointed by a symphony of light” due to the technical limitations of his time. Since 2008 Anna Gawboy has worked with lighting designer Justin Townsend, presently Arts Professor and Chair of the Department of Design for Stage and Film at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, to bring this design to life. The first performance under Anna's direction took place at Yale University in 2010. The 2024 Boston project was her fifth fully staged production of the "Prometheus" with both light parts. Anna and her team leverage the power of modern lighting techniques to faithfully interpret Scriabin’s notation.

The lighting aspect for "Prometheus, Poem of Fire" presents many interpretative, creative, and technical challenges. These challenges may only be met through close artistic collaboration between scholars, musicians, designers, and technicians. Anna Gawboy and Justin Townend describe the historical background, their own research, and work process of staging the "Prometheus" in depth in their article Scriabin and the Possible.

I was observing and assisting the collaborative process during these sessions, which included participating in cue work and rehearsal, perfoming the fast luce part during the overnight cuing sessions and technical adjustments. This allowed me to gain insight into the working methods of the team and made it possible to conduct research on collaborative processes across the arts involving my own experience as a fast luce player, analyzing feedback of orchestra members of the Boston Symphony, evaluating the slow luce impact in a large-scale venue (Boston Symphony Hall itself), and exploring possibilities and working algorithms of Matthew Deinhart, operating the state of the art lighting equipment.

I am truly grateful to Dr. Anna Gawboy and Matthew Deinhart for finding the time to talk to me about their experience, artistic input, and the future of interdisciplinary productions!

A huge thanks goes to the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (Austria) as well as the Ohio State University (USA) for making it possible for me to participate in this project and conduct this research!

Links:

Anna Gawboy: https://www.gawboy.com/

Matthew Deinhart: https://matthewdeinhart.com/

Andris Nelsons: https://andrisnelsons.com/

Boston Symphony Orchestra, the "Prometheus" Project:

https://www.bso.org/events/clyne-wagner-liszt-scriabin

Gawboy, Anna, and Justin Townsend. “Scriabin and the Possible.” Music Theory Online 18, no. 2 (2012).

https://mtosmt.org/issues/mto.12.18.2/mto.12.18.2.gawboy_townsend.php