Directed by Michael Tschudin—the musical director of the Mercer Arts Center, in which The Kitchen was housed—and Cia Lozell, the Midnight Opera Company was a collective of musicians, singers and players who worked with electronic devices to create immersive video and musical environments. Initially sponsored by EAI in 1971, the group toured nationally and participated in a number of Kitchen musical events, generating music described by Kitchen co-founder Dimitri Devyatkin as "a jazzy house combo." In April 1973, the group performed with keyboards, drums, alto and soprano saxophones, a Flugle horn, trombone, two violins, a contrabass, a Fender electric, a synthesizer and a number of video projections by the Vasulkas, Bapat, and Devyatkin. These ensemble productions directly spoke to EAI's mission to "assist projects undertaken by artists working to explore the potentials of the electronic media as a means of expression and non-commercial communication."