Scent Marketing Blog

The ScentOpera introduces a new art form created by Stewart Matthew based only on smell and sound. Matthew collaborates with renowned fragrance designer Christophe Laudamiel and composers Nico Muhly and Valgeir Sigurdsson.


Taking a libretto written by Matthew, Laudamiel creates unique scents that convey the story of the libretto. The dry scents are distributed by a one-of-a-kind scent organ engineered and created by Fläkt Woods that pumps the scents to ‘scent microphones’ attached to each seat. The scents are enhanced by original music written by Nico Muhly and Valgeir Sigurdsson. Together the music and scents tell the story of Green Aria, a Scent Opera.


The ScentOpera takes a step to extend the Wagnerian vision to a complete multi-sensory art form integrating all of the senses with the arts.


In the ScentOpera there will be no singing; instead of words, the libretto will be the written story and structure encompassing chords of perfumes/scents. The audience will be introduced to a new grammar, a new form of art in which scents will be dramatically ‘telling’ the story. Music and sound design will play a supporting role and will be precision coordinated to release of scents.


Each seat is outfitted with a ‘scent microphone’. The scents are inhaled, and the human body will play them.


Each scent will have complex chords. Chords of scent have the unique capacity to carry symbolic and associative meanings and memories. For example, some scents may be associated with tastes, others with flavors. We all instantly recognize the smell of fresh air or smoke. Other scents are less recognizable and become ‘definable’ through conditioning and context. In the ScentOpera the scent libretto will evoke associative meanings or meanings defined within the context of the unfolding narrative.


As in a spoken word that incorporates sound and lexical meaning, so the body plays a scent and the musical notes, in part, will be supporting the scents and helping the scents ‘sound’. The scent and music will combine according to new dynamics and a unique time metric, all new tools put to the purpose of creating a new narrative form.