Opera productions have long been transporting audiences emotionally into places and times both far away and familiar. Now, opera companies are beginning to explore the possibilities of taking this a step further by truly drawing audiences into the middle of the opera through virtual reality.
Just in time for Halloween, Brooklyn-based Opera on Tap has released the first episode in its virtual reality horror opera series, The Parksville Murders. The nine-minute opera was designed to be viewed using Samsung’s VR app, but it can also be viewed, without the virtual reality benefit, on other mobile devices or online. The opera features music by Kamala Sankaram and a libretto by Jerre Dye, and was directed by Cari Ann Shim Sham.
This week on A Tempo, host Rachel Katz experiences the opera and speaks with Opera on Tap founder Anne Hiatt about adapting opera to virtual reality. That’s Saturday at 7 pm.