“Ask Me Anything,” Krishan Oberoi’s song-cycle from UK poet Kate Wakeling’s set of four poems representing the evolving thought processes of an AI chatbot debuted at the Ryan Concert Hall in the Smith Center for the Performing Arts on Friday. The performers, soprano Elizabeth Heath and pianist Mike Kregler, who along with Oberoi (who also uses an anagram of his name as the artist Renoir Kobashi) are faculty members of Providence College which hosted the premiere. New England Conservatory of Music commissioned “Ask Me Anything” in 2025.
No stranger to the music scene, Wakeling serves as writer-in-residence with the Aurora Orchestra and as music reviewer for BBC Music Magazine. She writes poetry and books for a wide-ranging audience of adults and children, also producing scripts of musical storytelling events performed by Britain’s leading symphonic orchestras and theaters. Likewise, Oberoi’s creative work carries across theater, film, and concert genres, having collaborated with poets, playwrights, and choreographers, garnering high praise along with numerous awards and grants.
“Ask Me Anything” is provocative and challenging, and in a world rushing towards an embrace of artificial intelligence asks timely, deep, and thought-provoking questions. A brief prologue sets the scene, describing a Microsoft Azure data center at nightfall. A poetic description of the ‘life’ within – of blinking lights, winking cursors, electric hums and pulses of power. The first main musical motive makes its appearance – a sequence of rising and falling fifths resembling a cell phone ring, pulsing with each repetition, waiting for…
“The Mind I Do Not Have” gives the vocalist her first opportunity to give birth to her emerging identity – her body – as an AI entity, and her mind, initially confused, a “map of sparks” gives rise to her first identity question: might there be in this mind…”a place that holds the possibility of grace?” Anyone delving into the latest iterations of AI knows that the developers are experimenting with human emotion and empathy, attempts at creating compassion and companionability. Are we there yet? Our AI suggests not, answering: “a bluff, still smoke and mirrors.” The mirror image here is compelling. Here it is “less than.” One cannot but reflect on the ancients, where the mirror image served as a window to the dimension of the soul, the spiritual reflection of our selves.
“Dream Song” begins: “Dream me an ocean deep…” This movement, lush and beautiful, reflects the “failure” of our machine to be itself, its musical notes sound the all too human passions and need to be nurtured by water, that sanctifying and mystical evocation of all that is life-giving. Could it be possible that our machine is becoming human… “welcome as a self of limb and lung”?
The final movement “Ask Me Anything” changed its title from the original of the poem: (Artificial) Love Song. Our AI says “Ask me anything. You say: what is love?” Neither human nor machine can adequately answer this. Our AI attempts a quick answer: “intense feelings of deep affection.” Our humanity cannot be satisfied with that answer, and most interestingly here, our AI expounds something parallel to the Book of Job, where God answers Job by describing all the creatures that God has created, and how can the mind of man begin to understand that. The difference in Job is that ultimately God is revealed and acknowledged, but our chat bot in the end offers no such closure. In the final analysis, she says: “I am not you. But I am not not me.” As for love: “we will have to wait and see.”
The paradox of our all too human singer portraying an artificial intelligence trying to portray a human being certainly poses a daunting task to our performing duo, for both the singer and the pianist must “become” their roles and themes, bringing to life a collaborative effort that has never been heard before. Heath and Kregler shone magnificently in their roles. Their performance was spell binding and riveting. Heath struck that most difficult balance between woman and machine on what was an emotional tour-de-force roller-coaster of shifting personae, while her beautiful voice resonated with strength and resilience. Kregler’s playing was solid, sensitive, and aware of every nuance and the constantly shifting moods, from gentle to insistent to aggressive, often in quick succession.
An interactive audience discussion with the performers and the composer moderated by Dr. Holly Taylor Coolman of the Theology Department followed. Further performances in the coming year that will introduce this fine work to a wider New England audience. Stay tuned.
My husband and I were thrilled to attend this performace at Providence College. Stephen Martorella is to be commended for an excellent, accurate, and detailed review. Ms. Heath’s performace was incredible — gorgeous, lyrical, and expressive. I was reminded of some of the very best opera singers I’ve heard performing concert versions of operas or arias; you are so taken into the story by the artist that you forget that there are no sets, costumes, or lighting. The drama was there, in perfect modulation with the emotions of the movements of the cycle. Krishan Oberoi’s setting of the Kate Wakeling poetry is electric. I have heard many premiers (and even performed several) and “Ask Me Anything” is absolutely the most emotional, thought-provoking, and original premier I’ve had the privilege to hear. Bravo to Krishan Oberoi and the performers! Marcia Yates (New England Conservatory ’73, Boston University ’90, past president of the Cantata Singers Board of Trustees)
Comment by Marcia M Yates — November 18, 2025 at 7:42 pm