Photo Credits: HyperAllergic

Photo Credits: HyperAllergic

“Science Fair: An Opera with Experiments” was a captivating and engaging work of art presented at HERE Arts Center in Soho. Hai-Ting Chinn attracted the audience with her mezzo-soprano voice along with pianist Erika Switzer. They collaborated together to create a harmonizing performance. The pianist started off by counting the number of audience members and writing it on the chalkboard. Then, they introduced themselves. This format gave the feeling of a classroom, where they were the teachers and we were the students. Hai-Ting Chinn showed the fun in science by creating volcanic eruptions, mixing glow-in-the-dark liquids, and extracting DNA from a strawberry with help from the audience, making this a more engaging performance. She balanced the overwhelming information about science with her humor and singing. Early on, she embodied the solar system through a skirt that contained the planets in a spiral. This was a very creative way to portray science and  incorporate it into her costume. Her facial expressions and graceful movements along with the beats of the piano made the performance worthwhile and appealing to the eye.