UC San Diego

Not Quite a Sunset is an online interactive opera inspired by contemporary hypertext fiction, especially the work developed using the programming environment Twine. The narrative follows Dr. Sara Reyes, a scientist leading a planetary survey mission on a space station in orbit around an extrasolar planet. Over time, she begins to experience dreams and visions that hint at a strange but undeniably strong connection between herself and a mysterious Door on the planet's surface.

The work is presented primarily as prose that the listener navigates through hyperlinks within the text. Throughout the story, the listener is presented with key decision points where she must choose between several possible paths for Sara, the protagonist. The ramifications of these decisions are played out as the story and music unfold, often with consequences that are not immediately clear.

The music is composed primarily as textures and fragments in order to construct and represent a wide variety of immersive musical spaces as the listener explores and experiences the story; these shift between representations of physical spaces on the station to more personal reflections of Sara's emotional state. All of the audio tracks were created by mixing and layering the composed textures and fragments of the ensemble into different contexts. While the instrumental sextet is heard throughout, the voice is reserved solely for the dream sequences as a representation of Sara's subconscious.