Imaginary Forces

Imaginary Forces collaborated with Tony Award-winning Director Julie Taymor on "Grendel,"Elliot Goldenthal's groundbreaking opera inspired by the Beowulf legend. IF designed a series of projections, which enhance and are interrelated to the live performances on stage. The projections work with the sets to help transform the stage into a mythical environment. "Grendel" employs a spatial and sparse set design with the live singers and dancers interacting with animations and visuals projected on scrims, as well as set pieces, such as an ice wall and a suspended giant facemask. In designing the projections, the IF team worked to Elliot Goldenthal's music, as well as character and costume renderings to get a sense of how everything would integrate together. Grendel was extremely well recieved at its premiere at the Los Angeles Opera and once it moved The Lincoln Center in New York City, it was praised even more for it’s groundbreaking visuals and unique storytelling.

Los Angeles performance photos by Robert Millard and LA Opera.
New York performance photos by Stephanie Berger.