''Tesla – Lightning in His Hand'' is a large-scale opera about Serbian American engineer and inventor

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

(1856–1943), composed by

Constantine Koukias Constantine Koukias (born 14 October 1965) is a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. He is the co-founder and artistic director of IHOS Music The ...

, a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias, with libretto by Marianne Fisher.

Plot

The opera depicts Tesla's life as a series of reversals of fortunes. The two-hour work, sung in English, is in two parts and features a bass, a tenor, a bass-baritone, two sopranos, seven musicians (including a

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...

player) and a large male choir. Also audible are clattering typewriters, pigeons (in later life Tesla was deeply affected by the death of a specific white pigeon), Morse code and fragments of

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

New World Symphony New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

. It also included two Tesla coil as props at its premiere. A warning was issued in the program to audience members who might be wearing "pace-makers, hearing aides, or any form of electric, magnetic, mechanical or metallic implant or prosthetic device".

Production

The full opera was produced in 2003 by

IHOS Music Theatre and Opera IHOS Music Theatre and Opera is a Tasmanian opera company that was established in Hobart in 1990, by composer and artistic director Constantine Koukias, and production director Werner Ihlenfeld. It specializes in creating original music-theatre ...

. It was originally commissioned by the West Australian Opera and developed over three years through two staged "works in development". Creator and original Artistic Director of Tasmania's 10 Days on the Island Festival,

Robyn Archer Robyn Archer, AO, CdOAL (born 1948) is an Australian singer, writer, stage director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally. Biography Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australi ...

, commissioned the full opera to open the festival in 2003. The work, sponsored by the John Holland Group, was staged in a massive shed on Hobart's docks, where the Tesla coils put on a "spectacular display of electron sparks".

Reception

Reviewing the production for the Melbourne ''Age'', David Lander described it as "gorgeous image-based performance art with a fascinating, brittle score in which dilemmas are ignored in favour of sensuality". ''Tesla'' was featured on

ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

's ''New Music Australia'' program and has been cited as far afield as Croatia, where it was noted in a tourist board tribute to the scientist and Croatian Post's web page detailing a stamp to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the inventor's birth.Croatian Post Inc. 2006
150th Anniversary of the Birth of Nikola Tesla

2003 production credits

*Production director: Werner Ihlenfeld *Production designer: Maria Kunda *Artist in light: Hugh McSpedden

References

External links

Tasmanian Composers Collective listing for Constantine Koukias
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tesla - Lightning in His Hand Operas English-language operas 2003 operas Works about Nikola Tesla Operas by Constantine Koukias Operas set in Europe Operas set in the 19th century Operas set in the 20th century Operas based on real people