The Embodied Monologues
Research Series

In the year marking the official 100th anniversary of Cathy Berberian’s birth, a one-day symposium will celebrate the work of the American mezzo-soprano known as “the Callas of the Avant-Garde”. With a view to exploring the particular crosscurrents between the performative languages that forged New Music Theatre in post-world war II Europe, we situate Berberian at the centre of pioneering vocal experimentation while always seeking wider considerations as to her place in these crosscurrents. The symposium aims to establish a dialogue between scholars and practitioners from different backgrounds and lineages including music, theatre, media, performance, opera, gender studies, practice-based and embodied research. Artistic contributions (envoicements) from artist-researchers and practitioners relevant to the topic are equally welcome as well as scholarly interventions.

An iteration of the Embodied Monologues series (2017, 2022), the 2025 Embodied Monologues Symposium invites you to join a transdisciplinary laboratory posing the eclectic work of Cathy Berberian as a platform to pivot conversations about underrepresented performance practices and practitioners in New Music Theatre and other forms of staged vocal performance. The event will significantly foster the overlap between contemporary opera and other experimental forms of theatre with/in music from the time, especially highlighting its legacies in the contemporary production and scholarly scene.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

• Cathy Berberian’s contribution to the avant-garde music-theatre scene;
• Cathy Berberian’s vocal practices and New Vocality;
• Cathy Berberian’s situatedness in specific cultural contexts (Italy, Armenia, Germany, USA, Netherlands, etc…);
• Cathy Berberian’s compositions and relation to contemporaneous composers;
• Cathy Berberian in audio/video recording;
• Performers in later twentieth century New Music Theatre
• Crosscurrents and exchanges with other performing arts (theatre, dance, mime, etc…)
• Voice and Vocalities in the twentieth and twenty-first century;
• Identities and power dynamics in productions of later twentieth century opera and New Music Theatre up to the present;
• Creative agencies in contemporary music-theatre production with special emphasis on writing, staging and performance collaborative processes.

The symposium invites a range of envoicement/presentation formats:

• Individual paper envoicement/presentation (15 mins +5 min. Q&A);
• Practice-based presentation/ performance/ workshop (30 mins/ 60 mins);
• Short film/ documentary/ video installation (please, indicate length with submission, and include a link via Vimeo, YouTube or other online platforms);

Submissions for proposals should be sent to the e-mail address:

Francesca.Placanica@mu.ie by Friday 6^th of June 2025 in a single document (preferably in PDF) including the following information:

• First name and surname
• Institutional affiliation(s) (if any)
• Contact e-mail address
• Title of presentation
• Type/format of presentation (one of the above options)
• Abstract (250-300 words)
• Brief biography (100 words per presenter)
• Please submit your proposals and any inquiries, to the Chair’s e-mail address: Francesca.Placanica@mu.ie

The Organising Committee:

Francesca Placanica (Chair), Maynooth University, Ireland

Laura Hamer, The Open University, UK

Pamela Karantonis, Goldsmith University, UK

Stefano Lombardi Vallauri, IULM University, Milan, Italy