Cathy Berberian’s Stripsody is a seminal example of 20th-century vocal composition, signifying the advent of the new vocality and incorporating elements of both avant-garde and popular culture. Berberian’s performance of the piece was characterized by a sequence of vocal and corporeal gestures. The point of reference for them was the stage presence of one of the many comic-like textual sources serving as a score.

For Berberian, Stripsody functioned as a performative space, deconstructing boundaries between categories such as originality-reproduction, visuality-audibility, and orality-textuality. It is vital to acknowledge its pivotal role in negotiating boundaries between score(s) and performance, as well as between the author(s), the work and performer. The multimedia and polyphonic identity of the work invites the creation of new meanings in the age of digital media, through the participation of new performative practices.

The slogan “Broadcast yourself” guides the democratic, occasionally eccentric, and constantly remediating space of YouTube, and resonates with the characteristics of Stripsody and the contexts of its performance. The year 2025 is particularly significant in this regard, as it marks two landmark anniversaries: the 100th anniversary of Berberian’s birth and the 20th anniversary of YouTube’s establishment. This concurrence may be regarded as an opportunity to reconsider how Stripsody operates within the context of online audiovisual culture.

In the world of YouTube, Stripsody is continually being given new lives, manifesting in a variety of virtual spectacles that embody myriad performative practices and audiovisual genres – ranging from concert recordings to hybrid animated productions. These performances are created by both professional artists and amateur enthusiasts, including adults, children, women, and men, from all over the world.

This paper examines the identity of Stripsody as an aesthetic, multimedia, and performative object within the space of virtual spectacle, and explores the role of the performer in its creation. The following research questions are proposed: What is the impact of the presence of Stripsody performances on YouTube on its identity, and what role do performer’s actions play in this regard? In what manner is the relationship between voice, body, and score created in the context of audiovisual technologies and the performative practices of virtual spectacle? Do current creative strategies serve to fortify or undermine Berberian’s original performative attitude? The paper will address these and other pertinent issues.