The Turing Machine opera premiered in Helsinki in April 2008. The piece is comprised mainly of new electronic music and real-time sampling of old and new material. The Turing Machine opera’s libretto is based on the life of Alan Turing, (1912-54), an English mathematician, logician, and cryptographer, who is often considered to be the father of modern computer science. The scenography for the opera is 3D animation created as part of Crucible Studio's experimental production for SALERO.
The Turing Enigma
In Turing Enigma Alan Turing's spirit has infiltrated the World War II encrypting device Enigma, which Turing devised to successfully crack an “unbreakable” German code. The user can play the role of the cryptologist and engage in discussions with Alan Turing's spirit. The artificial character can recognize words and sentences from text typed-in by users and then reply accordingly with text and by "spitting out" various 3D-animated objects and operatic sounds out of the Enigma machine. During the Turing Machine multimedia performances by Opera Skaala The Turing Enigma will also be present as an installation in the performance venue.