VANCOUVER, BC -- Vancouver Opera announces the launch today of Operabot, an international online animation contest for its Golden Anniversary 2009-2010 Season.
Contestants are challenged to create animated shorts from any of the four operas from the 2009/2010 season: NORMA, NIXON IN CHINA, THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO and MADAMA BUTTERFLY. Entries will be posted to YouTube and will be open to voting, with the final winners chosen by a panel of judges from leading Vancouver-area animation studios. Prizes include animation software computer gear, gaming packages, mp3 players and digital cameras
The contest is found here:
http://www.youtube.com/group/vancouveropera
"With the long-running success of our innovative Opera Manga series by artists Fiona Meng and Roy Husada, and with the more recent successes of our social media initiatives, we thought this was a logical next step," said General Director Jim Wright. "We can't wait to see what people come up with!"
The contest runs June 1, 2009 to Nov 1, 2009 and is open to residents of Canada and the United States. Official rules can be found at
www.vancouveropera.ca . All entrants will receive tickets to the opera, so everyone is a winner!
The contest was inspired by the active animation industry in Vancouver and by a similar contest run by Chicago Opera Theater in 2008. VO has posted - on its blog
www.vancouveropera.blogspot.com and at the VO contest website - one of the Chicago finalists that inspired the Vancouver.
Vancouver Opera is a leader in social media initiatives, including the Operalive.ca multimedia site, Blogger Night at the Opera, Opera Ninja (a live backstage twitterer) and Operagator, an opera news aggregator.
Utilizing Web 2.0 channels, including an active blog, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube channel, Vancouver Opera is committed to reaching the next generation of opera lovers using the media of the times.
Vancouver Opera is also a leader in using visual arts as a medium for opera. In addition to the Opera Manga series, the company has a long-standing tradition of commissioning original artwork to promote its productions. Most recently, award-winning New Jersey-based visual artist Edel Rodriguez created vivid images for the Golden Anniversary 2009-2010 season.
Links to Vancouver Opera's extensive network of social media sites as well as official contest rules can be found on its homepage at
http://www.vancouveropera.ca .
