Where does the boundary between human and machine begin to blur? And can technology unlock our limitations and set the voice free? 

Descend into the chambers of Cisternerne together with vocal artist and composer Marcela Lucatelli, as she connects the human voice to technological circuitry from her algorithmic altar. Here, she reprogrammes seven archetypal operatic roles into seven digital voices that sing, respond and actively shape the unfolding composition.

The Inhuman Human Voice is performed in Cisternerne on Frederiksberg, a former underground water reservoir that today stands as one of Copenhagen’s most atmospheric exhibition spaces. The cool air, the faint humidity and the vast reverberation create an acoustic environment far removed from the traditional concert hall. In this cavernous setting, the voice moves through the space as a physical force, reflecting in the water and across the raw concrete surfaces.

As Lucatelli’s voice meets both the echoes of technology and the unique resonance of Cisternerne, the result is an immersive experience in which the audience is surrounded by sound, space and Marcela Lucatelli’s uncompromising exploration of the voice and its possibilities.

Fewer than 100 tickets remain - we are working to add an extra performance.

A mysterious opera about techno-obsession and multiplicity

Vocal artist and composer Marcela Lucatelli describes her new operatic performance The Inhuman Human Voice as “a mysterious opera about techno-obsession and ensouled multiplicity.” In this performance, she places her voice in a living dialogue with a neural network of interactive machine voices.

Lucatelli moves through seven archetypal operatic figures – from the witch and the queen to the prophet and the oracle. Characters that emerge from the shadow-world of the algorithm and meet within a vocal space where human song and machine response intertwine in new sonic forms.

Using new synthesis models trained exclusively on Lucatelli’s own voice, a machine-mediated chorus gradually emerges. A chorus that reacts spontaneously and improvisationally to her raw and genre-defying musical impulses. The result is an intense vocal ceremony in which technological errors, noise and glitches are not concealed, but embraced as active elements of the music.

Here, beneath the surface of the city, we encounter a voice that divides, contradicts itself and reappears in new forms. An echo of opera’s oldest rituals, resonating within a former underground water reservoir without internet connection, and pointing towards a future in which technology may become a natural extension of the human voice itself.