Fanny and Alexander:  a mix of electronic and acoustic music

Fanny and Alexander: a mix of electronic and acoustic music

The electronic music I mentioned in my main article about “Fanny and Alexander” is quite interesting and a core aspect of the music of the opera. Speakers were placed across the auditorium and on the ceiling to create a surround sound experience for the audience (see here the speakers attached to the chandelier). The electronic…


The electronic music I mentioned in my main article about “Fanny and Alexander” is quite interesting and a core aspect of the music of the opera.

Speakers were placed across the auditorium and on the ceiling to create a surround sound experience for the audience (see here the speakers attached to the chandelier).

The electronic parts of the scenes were carefully balanced with the sound of the amplified singers and orchestra to create a blend that, ideally, would be near imperceptible throughout the majority of the opera.

The amplification on the singers was also taken advantage of in particular in one scene in which Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, playing Ismael, had a reverb effect put on his voice to create a more mystical and mysterious atmosphere for the scene. This all has been praised by some critics for the innovative nature of this idea, but has also been at times criticised.

Sound design

Here is an interesting article in La Monnaie magazine about the sound design in “Fanny and Alexander”: A unique surround sound experience

And a video in which the composer and conductor speak about the concept of mixing orchestral and electronic music:


One response to “Fanny and Alexander: a mix of electronic and acoustic music”

  1. […] The electronic music I just mentioned is quite interesting and a core aspect of the music of “Fanny and Alexander”. I will develop it in a dedicated post. […]

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