Immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) offer new platforms for the discovery of music, dance, and theatre, but they also present unprecedented opportunities for creation and audience enjoyment. Digital experiences which augment traditional shows are the future. REWIND, an Emmy nominated immersive content studio, is helping craft that future with experiences for Welsh National Opera (WNO).
WNO is one of the UK’s best-loved opera companies, with a long history of engaging with new audiences through affordable ticket pricing, touring large and small venues and ground-up outreach projects. Now the company is embracing technology to reimagine opera, banish misconceptions, and introduce new audiences to the art form. Together, WNO and REWIND are pushing the boundaries of technological and artistic innovation.
Magic Butterfly, the reimagining of classic scenes in VR from two iconic operas – Madam Butterfly and The Magic Flute – was the first partnership between the two companies. Following on the success of the project, WNO approached REWIND to invigorate Rhondda Rips It Up, its latest touring production which brings to life the story of Margaret Haig Thomas (or ‘Lady Rhondda’).
Lady Rhondda was a suffragette (secretary of the Newport branch of the Women’s Social and Political Union) and made her own bomb kit, even attempting to blow up a post box! The WNO production is a whirlwind tour of her life and adventures as a heroine of the Welsh Suffrage movement. The opera opened in June and is touring venues across Wales and England until the end of November.
Taking a key scene from the production – the courtroom trial – the company used AR to digitally enhance it and then worked with WNO to blend the AR with the performance and music to create a new stimulating experience. For its premiere at Sessions House in Usk, the experience was synched to a live theatre performance, placing Lady Rhondda in the court trial with live actors and spatialized audio. AR tracking markers were hidden within the court environment itself – alongside a networking setup to ensure everything in the experience is synced to the millisecond.
After the premiere, Rhondda Rebel AR toured as an innovative installation in locations across Wales and England. A site-specific set was created and audiences provided with iPads and greeted by a suffragette to combine live action, spatial sound and animation with an augmented world.
This blend of digital and real-life, allows companies like Welsh National Opera to engage fans in new ways and extend interest. Sol Rogers, CEO of REWIND said: “Through its digital initiatives and progressive stance on opera, WNO is not only augmenting what it does but attracting different and diverse audiences to a traditional form of entertainment and taking established fans on new and exciting journeys. We’ve also worked with Bjork to create new immersive experiences – artists want to push their performances too – the combination of music and technology can be incredibly powerful.”
David Massey, WNO’s Digital Producer, said:“72% of audiences for our digital interventions have never experienced opera or VR before. We hope that by collaborating with partners in the creative and digital industries, and in academia, we can continue to delight new audiences and open their eyes to the original immersive art form, opera.”
You can experience Rhondda Rebel this autumn at The Pierhead, Cardiff on 30 Aug–2 Sept; Pontio, Bangor on 14-16 Oct, and John Hansard Gallery, Southampton on 17-18 Nov. For more information wno.org.uk/rhondda.
