Taste the music: an audience eats algae fed by an opera singer’s breath

Last weekend at London’s V&A museum a gimmicky but fascinating piece of silly science was part of the London Design Festival.

The Algae Opera has been formed for the event by the After Agri collective. Mezzo-soprano Louise Ashcroft was the singer. Here’s the blurb from their site:

The algae, which are a photosynthetic plant-like organism, feeds on the carbon dioxide in the singer’s breath. As an important future food source, the singer’s algae can also be eaten. Alongside listening to her music, the audience can also taste her song.

To increase the growth of the algae the body of the singer is trained to use her extraordinary large lung capacity to produce the highest quality algae-product. The composition of the song and the singer’s vocal technique are redesigned to specifically produce algae and enrich its taste. To do this, the composer and singer use the new science of sonic enhancement of food where different pitches and frequencies make food taste either bitter or sweet.

So in the age of biotechnology not only can the audience listen to her talent but they can also savor her unique blend of algae that are enriched by her song.

I can’t find any audience reaction to the event, but you can try it at home for £30:

The Algae Opera dinner set completes your experience. This box set include “How to taste the song” booklet, CD, and a badge to collect algae. Postage included. The booklet features insights into the project and exclusive recipes.

A must for opera fans everywhere.

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.