Experimental Opera

Julia Christensen doesn't usually deal in horrific true crime — unless you count empty big box retail stores, which happened to be the subject of her recent talk at a national conference. This week, Christensen deals with the gory "torso murders" that happened along Cleveland's Kingsbury Run in the 1930s. MOCA Cleveland commissioned Christensen and songwriter Sarah Paul to make a performance piece in association with MOCA's fall exhibit, "Invitation to Lubberland," which features artists Duke Riley's visual take on the immigrant shantytown where the murders took place. Christensen, a teacher at Oberlin College and founder of the contemporary performance group WAM (Women in Art and Music), has supplied the video and the performance ensemble for The Unsung Torsos, what she calls an "experimental opera." Christensen's video serves as both set and score, as the musicians follow what's on the screen with their improvisations. The Unsung Torsos happens at 7 p.m. Saturday at MOCA Cleveland (8501 Carnegie Ave., 216-421-8671 ext. 71, mocacleveland.org). It's free for students and members of MOCA and SPACES, $5 for everyone else. — Gill