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https://theconversation.com/a-long-dead-soprano-has-taken-to-the-stage-with-the-melbourne-symphony-orchestra-are-holograms-the-future-219716>
"I was recently among a curious Melbourne audience who turned out to see a
hologram of the long-dead soprano Maria Callas singing with the Melbourne
Symphony Orchestra.
The stage was moodily lit, with 30 musicians in shadows. Loud reverberating
footsteps foreshadowed Callas’ entrance and indicated potential humanness. When
she eventually appeared centre stage, the audience gasped. Ripples of laughter
followed when she and conductor Daniel Schlosberg played out a manufactured
exchange of acknowledgement.
The Callas hits were performed, from Bellini’s
Casta Diva from Norma to
Bizet’s
L'amour est un oiseau rebelle from Carmen. But there were limitations
to the success. While the live orchestral sounds filled Hamer Hall, the vocals
were clearly directed from the speakers, rather than the hologram at centre
stage.
I felt an uncomfortable silence lingering before and after each song. The
Callas hologram delayed the momentum. She bowed, inviting the audience to clap
again, and coyly berated the conductor when he started before she was ready.
The audience waited, and it all seemed to drag on.
This is one of the limitations of combining live music and a pre-recorded
voice: you can’t respond to the temperament of the audience. You can’t speed it
up when required.
Those seated around me did not seem to share my concerns. A version of Callas –
the woman known as La Divina, “the divine one” – had been digitally
resurrected, and that was enough for now."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
