Author: Richard Teitelbaum
Year: 1994

An Interactive Opera by Richard LoWe Teitelbaum

I first became interested in the Golem while visiting the mysterious tomb of Rabbi Lowe of Praque 1984. From that visit came a personal experience which proved profoundly disquieting — one which seemed to warn of the dangers inherent in the ill-conceived practice of magic very much as does the story of the Golem itself. Further, as I was already struggling to create a kind of artificial "pianist" of my own at the time, the story of my (middle-) namesake's ill-advised and ill-fated creation became for me an obsession.

My researches into the Golem legend uncovered a richness and depth of meaning I had not imagined: Writings as various as Gershom Scholem's Profound essay on 'The Idea of the Golem" and Norbert Wiener's God and Colem Inc. suggested many ideas and images, from the more mystical early Biblicaj, Talmudic and Kabbalistic sources, to the later, more utilitarian versions of the Golem as servant and protector, and even the latter-day robot. As with all such archetypal metaphors, the Golem mytlj can be viewed on many levels - embodying such seemingly far flung notions as the mysteries of Creation, the dangers of magic and technology, the challenges of cybernetics and artificial intellijjence, and even the problems of racism, violence and oppression. These many themes, levels, and historical contexts have been interwoven into a multi-media opera integrating ligrjting, slide and interactive videodisc projections with acoustic and electronic music.

Finally, this piece is in many ways a collective creation,and so I would like to express my gratitude to, all the extraordinary artists who contributed their talents to this project.