There is a term that Richard Wagner used to describe his operas that we have borrowed: “Gesamtkunstwerk,” or “total art-work,” describes an aesthetic experience that brings together all our senses in a totalizing, all-encompassing piece of art.
“The Tragedies of Space Travel” — which was presented Friday through Sunday — is a colossal thing: sprawling, detailed, moving, even delicious. The production is largely the brainchild of Brendan Nguyen, an active pianist, artist, and co-founder of the concert and production series Project BLANK.
In the narrative, the audience is part of the story. Believing that they are to hear a performance of Messiaen’s piece, the concert-goers are met by alien travelers, who have left their own world fleeing wars and destruction. Our visitors have learned something of modern human atrocities by hearing recordings of Messaien’s piece.
With such a diverse conglomerate of sources and intentions, “Tragedies” is kind of a mess — a campy, touching, wonderful, mess. A bizarre narrative that in another setting might seem impossible, here simply works.