Post by Counterklock on Sept 5, 2016 22:44:12 GMT
At the very height of Cybertron’s splendor, Vos was renowned for its opera.There were many, many opera houses within Vos before the war, and all served as cultural and performing arts centres for their surrounding communities. Opera was an integral part within the more culturally-inclined side of society, and just about everybody had attended at least one performance at some point or another.
The main theatre, known simply as the Vosmian Opera House (there were many opera houses, of course, but only one Opera House), was often said to be the very spark of Vosnian society. It had a very distinctive appearance, carefully and cleverly engineered to be one-of-a-kind and optic-catching. At one point, before the Fall of Cybertron, the Vosnian Opera House was even galaxy-famous, and it was not unusual for foreign diplomats and alien ambassadors to be treated to such a magnificent wonder such as a performance at the House.
All well-to-do members of the upper classes attended the opera at the House as often as their schedules permitted, and it was an important cultural icon and symbol of pride. Contrary to popular belief, the House was not simply one venue but multiple venues operating at once under the same roof, a dozen smaller theatres named for the twelve ‘known’ Primes which radiate outward from the largest, thirteenth theatre, which is simply known as the Main Theatre (as the thirteenth Prime’s name has mysteriously been lost to the ages).The House itself was grand, with the Main Theatre able to seat over a million bots comfortably and designed so that the occupants of each and every seat - from the closest to the stage to the furthest from - could hear the performers as clearly as if they were standing right before them.
By law, all performers, from the stars of the show to the musicians in the orchestra, had to be of Vosnian citizenship, whether it by creation or by naturalization. In practice, those born in Vos tended to be unofficially preferred over any bot who immigrated from somewhere else. Nearly every performer was a seeker, with the common belief that seekers naturally have a greater and more illustrious vocal range than any other type of Cybertronian. There is some discourse over whether this is discrimination or not, even when there have been some notable (and famous) exceptions to the ‘rule’. Nevertheless, every performer goes through rigorous training even before they step foot in the House, and after they sign on to a performance, the director of the show is relentless in ensuring every single participant, from the lowest backstage staff to the highest ingenue, knows their role and their place within the theatre.
Every performance was guaranteed to blow the minds of the audience. Just as the House was known for its traditional methods of opera, so too was it known for its unorthodox ways of utilizing lighting, props, music, and other elements. State-of-the-art and cutting-edge technologies were utilized to ensure the atmosphere, setting, stage, and mood of the show was memorable. In this way, audience members were also made to feel as if they were part of the experience, present and participating despite being physically separated from the cast.
Performances themselves were an eclectic mix of traditional and classic tales (The Tragedy of the Primes, as elucidated here) to modern stories about Cybertronian heroes, to ‘indie circuit’ productions about contemporary issues. All was fair game for the Vosnian opera! Of course, operas featuring a Vosnian character tended to fluff up the greatness of this Vosnian’s abilities and accomplishments, all in the spirit of city-state pride.
The Masters of the House were understandably bots of great importance within Vosnian society, and thus held great sway over the population. It was not unusual for politicians to vy for support and endorsement of the House, donating money and time in hopes of gaining it. Whether or not they gained this support varied; sometimes, current Masters might seek to keep the House as neutral as possible within the realm of politics and thus refuse to endorse anyone, while others happily endorsed whomever they pleased in order to make a statement.
When Vos fell, so too did the House. It was reduced to rubble in the war, and now only the records of archival data banks and those who had seen it in person recall its splendor. When the homesickness is particularly great, some seekers of Vos even listen to or watch recordings of past performances. Occasionally, one might even sing the songs - though for most, the grief is still too great.
The main theatre, known simply as the Vosmian Opera House (there were many opera houses, of course, but only one Opera House), was often said to be the very spark of Vosnian society. It had a very distinctive appearance, carefully and cleverly engineered to be one-of-a-kind and optic-catching. At one point, before the Fall of Cybertron, the Vosnian Opera House was even galaxy-famous, and it was not unusual for foreign diplomats and alien ambassadors to be treated to such a magnificent wonder such as a performance at the House.
All well-to-do members of the upper classes attended the opera at the House as often as their schedules permitted, and it was an important cultural icon and symbol of pride. Contrary to popular belief, the House was not simply one venue but multiple venues operating at once under the same roof, a dozen smaller theatres named for the twelve ‘known’ Primes which radiate outward from the largest, thirteenth theatre, which is simply known as the Main Theatre (as the thirteenth Prime’s name has mysteriously been lost to the ages).The House itself was grand, with the Main Theatre able to seat over a million bots comfortably and designed so that the occupants of each and every seat - from the closest to the stage to the furthest from - could hear the performers as clearly as if they were standing right before them.
By law, all performers, from the stars of the show to the musicians in the orchestra, had to be of Vosnian citizenship, whether it by creation or by naturalization. In practice, those born in Vos tended to be unofficially preferred over any bot who immigrated from somewhere else. Nearly every performer was a seeker, with the common belief that seekers naturally have a greater and more illustrious vocal range than any other type of Cybertronian. There is some discourse over whether this is discrimination or not, even when there have been some notable (and famous) exceptions to the ‘rule’. Nevertheless, every performer goes through rigorous training even before they step foot in the House, and after they sign on to a performance, the director of the show is relentless in ensuring every single participant, from the lowest backstage staff to the highest ingenue, knows their role and their place within the theatre.
Every performance was guaranteed to blow the minds of the audience. Just as the House was known for its traditional methods of opera, so too was it known for its unorthodox ways of utilizing lighting, props, music, and other elements. State-of-the-art and cutting-edge technologies were utilized to ensure the atmosphere, setting, stage, and mood of the show was memorable. In this way, audience members were also made to feel as if they were part of the experience, present and participating despite being physically separated from the cast.
Performances themselves were an eclectic mix of traditional and classic tales (The Tragedy of the Primes, as elucidated here) to modern stories about Cybertronian heroes, to ‘indie circuit’ productions about contemporary issues. All was fair game for the Vosnian opera! Of course, operas featuring a Vosnian character tended to fluff up the greatness of this Vosnian’s abilities and accomplishments, all in the spirit of city-state pride.
The Masters of the House were understandably bots of great importance within Vosnian society, and thus held great sway over the population. It was not unusual for politicians to vy for support and endorsement of the House, donating money and time in hopes of gaining it. Whether or not they gained this support varied; sometimes, current Masters might seek to keep the House as neutral as possible within the realm of politics and thus refuse to endorse anyone, while others happily endorsed whomever they pleased in order to make a statement.
When Vos fell, so too did the House. It was reduced to rubble in the war, and now only the records of archival data banks and those who had seen it in person recall its splendor. When the homesickness is particularly great, some seekers of Vos even listen to or watch recordings of past performances. Occasionally, one might even sing the songs - though for most, the grief is still too great.