Five Octave Range, a single channel video work by Paul Wong edited from his four channel site specific outdoor installation of the same title proposes a democratizing and queering of the opera, a primarily elitist art form. The work features four performers with diverse octave ranges, a baritone, tenor, coloratura soprano and mezzo singer, who were asked to demonstrate their skills for the camera in free form without any rigours of form or instruction placed upon them. Wong's emphasis is on the gripping affect of operatic overtures that is able to transcend its own exclusivity. Paul Wong further experiments with the recorded performances, by digitally exaggerating and manipulating their overwhelming quality, mutating it into a futuristic form that can be accessed by all—the seasoned opera goer, and non-traditional audiences - actualizing his conviction that art really is more democratic than the circuit it is often allowed to traverse.
〈五個八度〉是黃柏武從同名特定場域戶外四頻道錄像裝置剪輯而成的單頻道錄像創作。作品試圖民主化歌劇，這個原先僅屬於上層社會的娛樂。〈五個八度〉呈現四位不同聲場的演出者，分別為男中音、男高音、花腔女高音，和次女高音。幾位聲樂手在沒有任何指示下，在鏡頭前自由展現聲樂技巧。黃柏武藉此呈現聲樂跨越階級與族群的穿透力，並且透過數位編輯使影像散發未來色彩，進一步觸及大眾（包括有經驗的歌劇鑑賞家、非典型觀眾等）並探索錄像演出的各種可能。藝術家藉此傳達，藝術其實比其所運行的網絡更為開闊與民主。
Commissioned by Vancouver Opera Festival