Twitter opera to make premiere

Operas have been written about many things, magic flutes, tragic former courtesans expiring in their lovers' arms, or final battles with the gods, but seldom about the trials and tribulations of corporate life. This however is the theme of Join!, with the script by a former top corporate executive, that has its world premiere on Wednesday in Vienna, a city better known for its more traditional operatic productions. With its characters singing in snatches of business jargon, advertising slogans and messages such as those on Twitter, Join! tells the story of a brainstorming "away-day" by marketing types. Their new product is the ultimate computer chip, implanted into customers' brains, catapulting them into cyberspace and allowing them to stay online 24-7 -- giving the company nothing less than global domination. Alfred Zellinger, 68, who spent 40 years at multinationals like Unilever and Philips, said his libretto was a new version of his 1980s book Spiel der Konzerne (Corporate Games) updated for the Internet age. "I have always used quotes from business in my literary work, and Twitter is well suited since messages have to be fewer than 140 characters," Zellinger told AFP. "I use Twitter a lot, it helps me to shorten the way I express myself." The music mirrors the madness on stage, veering eclectically between classical, art nova, pop, jazz and rock "from Jerry Lee Lewis to Lady Gaga," composer Franz Koglmann told radio station OE1. The premiere is part of the Wiener Festwochen, an annual festival of theatre, concerts, opera, film and lectures starting in the Austrian capital on Wednesday and running until June 21.