What kind of art comes from friendship? Artists Raúl de Nieves and Colin Self collaborate in the creation of their chamber opera, The Fool, staged in February 2017 at Chelsea’s renowned arts space, The Kitchen. A chorus and string ensemble in four acts, The Fool is an allegorical journey of discovery—a “characterization of learning,” explains Self. “By the time [the characters] finish their journey, they are back where they began.”

De Nieves shares how his early fascination with street performances in Mexico piqued his interest in music and performance art. After both recently moving to New York, de Nieves and Self met while performing at the Brooklyn artist-run space Secret Project Robot. “It was just one of those things of watching someone perform and being like oh my gosh, we are from the same universe,” Self remembers.

Collaboration is central to both artists’ practices and to The Fool itself. “My friends teach me how to give, how to receive,” says de Nieves. “Without the little help each one of us gives one another, it would actually be very hard to sustain a normal life.”