Manchester bicentenary fellow creates groundbreaking new opera whose audience shapes the story live

A University of Manchester bicentenary music fellow has created an immersive opera in which audience choices shape the story. Ghost of the AI Empire combines live performance, Japanese Noh theatre and interactive technology for one night only at the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall, Martin Harris Centre on Friday 6 November.

A new opera created and directed by University of Manchester bicentenary fellow will invite its audience to shape the story live at the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall on Friday 6 November 2026.

In Ghost of the AI Empire, audience members can take part anonymously using their phones. Their choices affect scenes as the performance unfolds: for example, during a boat journey, they can calm or raise a storm, influencing whether a fugitive reaches land. An intelligent-stage system responds to the collective mood in the hall. Even the cast will not know in advance how the story ends.

The opera project and its intelligent-stage system were created by Dr Alexandra Huang-Kokina, Bicentenary Music Fellow at the University of Manchester and Artistic Director of Operactive Arts. It reimagines the Japanese ghost legend Yotsuya Kaidan in a future ruled by an AI empire, bringing elements of Japanese Noh theatre together with European opera. Live singers and musicians perform a work sung in English and Japanese, with English surtitles.

Dr Huang-Kokina said: “Opera has always been an art form of innovation. We wanted a show that responds to the people in the hall, with singers, musicians and audience creating an experience unique to that night alone. Immersive technology deepens that shared emotional experience and opens up new participatory possibilities for the live stage, while the artists remain in full creative control.”

The production has two parts: The Covenant, with music by Ryan Morgan, and Yurei, with music by Atzi Muramatsu. Harry O’Brien (University of Manchester Bicentenary PhD Scholar) provides electroacoustic sound design, and Nick Bond (University of Manchester Music and Drama alumnus) is artistic co-director. Earlier versions were performed in Edinburgh and Lund in 2025. In May 2026, Operactive Arts ran a human–AI improvisation workshop in Manchester as part of English National Opera’s Tuning into Opera initiative.

Ghost of the AI Empire takes place at 7pm on Friday 6 November at the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall, Martin Harris Centre, Manchester. A pre-concert talk will feature Professor Michelle Phillips, Director at Creative Manchester, Dr Courtney Chrimes, Lecturer in Fashion Business and Marketing in the Department of Materials, and Dr Alexandra Huang-Kokina.

Tickets cost £15, or £10 for concessions. A dress rehearsal will be open to students. 
For further information and to book, visit: https://operactive.co.uk/ghost-of-the-ai-empire.