Oct
Yūrei: Ghost of the AI Empire
Step into the world of Yūrei, a thrilling new opera experience that fuses Japanese ghost stories, futuristic technology, and interactive performance, a project emerging from The Centre for Aesthetics and Business Creativity.
Inspired by the legendary 19th-century ghost tale Yotsuya Kaidan, Yūrei catapults the haunting spirits into the futuristic world of 2100 A.D., where love, betrayal, digital twins and AI-driven immortality take center stage. But don’t let the word “opera” scare you, this isn’t your grandparents’ opera.
What to expect
This is a work-in-progress showcase, a prototype of where we’re experimenting with bold ideas and immersive storytelling across a few key scenes. You’ll be not just a spectator but a co-experimenter for this exploration. We warmly invite your participation during the performance, and your feedback afterward will help shape the future of this opera.
Key highlights
- You become part of the story as mischievous Yōkai (Japanese monsters & spirits)
- Audience orchestra: pick your virtual musical instrument and play along
- Mobile plot diverging app: help decide the villain’s fate, live
- Augmented reality stage: explore a dreamlike Japanese garden in digital bloom, where interactive sound and visuals blend into an eternal realm
Blending the rich traditions of Kabuki theatre and Gagaku music with AI creativity and improvised performance, Yūrei is a boundary-breaking event that brings together art, tech, myth and cultural heritage.
Stick around after the show for a discussion with our panelists, featuring the opera’s creative team, our academic collaborators from the University of Edinburgh, leading AI-audio companies like Neutone Ltd., and more.
All welcome
Curious minds, creatives, gamers, opera newbies, and time-traveling spirits.
Production
Concept, Story & Lyrics: Alexandra Huang-Kokina
Produced by: Operactive Arts Ltd.
Music score: Atzi Muramatsu
AI Audio: Neutone Ltd – neutone.ai
About
The Centre for Aesthetics and Business Creativity (ABC) is a centre that loves its periphery-pulling forces. It wants to extend the research-basis for understanding and practicing organizational creativity in pursuit of values that enhance our quality of life, as citizens and consumers.
ABC aims to push the boundaries by engaging across diverse disciplines, such as art history, performance research, literary composition and cultural studies. By becoming a dynamic hub that blends ethics, aesthethics and business creativity, it will continue to inspire new ways of thinking and doing.
About the event
Location:
Skissernas Museum (Museum of Artistic Process and Public Art), Finngatan 2, Lund, Sweden
Contact:
abc [at] ehl [dot] lu [dot] se