Opera diva Maria Callas makes a holographic encore
In the 21st century, living and breathing are not prerequisites for a successful performing career.
Tupac Shakur was one of the first artists to break into the biz of postmortem performance. Resurrected through technological wizardry, the deceased rapper appeared in hologram form alongside Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre at Coachella 2012.
Two years later it was Michael Jackson’s turn to perform a ghostly moonwalk at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. Last year, a holographic Roy Orbison launched an international tour. He’ll be joined by Buddy Holly, also in holographic form, for the European leg of that tour this fall.
Now, on April 13 at USC’s Bovard Auditorium, Los Angeles opera fans can watch as one of that art form’s greatest stars is conjured from beyond the grave.
Presented by L.A. Opera in association with the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, “Callas in Concert” is a 105-minute concert featuring a holographic Maria Callas in recital backed by a full, live orchestra.
L.A. Opera President and CEO Christopher Koelsch saw the first performance of “Callas in Concert” at the University of California, Davis, in September. He says that what stood out to him that evening, as the holographic Callas performed beloved arias by Puccini and Bellini, was the audience’s reaction to the spectral diva.
“After a few numbers, the technology started to disappear for [the audience] and they were acting as if this mirage was Callas herself,” he says. “I would say within 10 to 15 minutes people were reacting to her performance in the same way that they would react to a vocal recital at [the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion]. That was the part that was quite astonishing to me.”
Perhaps more than Tupac or Roy Orbison, Callas would be comfortable with holographic resurrection. After all, she spent her life regularly dying tragically on the opera stage, only to reappear in couture a few hours later at a glamorous party.
Now, as a hologram, she is back for yet another encore.
LA Opera and Base Hologram’s ‘Callas in Concert’ at the L.A. Times Festival of Books: The ticketed hologram performance from soprano Maria Callas, with music performed live by the L.A. Opera Orchestra, will take place at 7 p.m. April 13 at Bovard Auditorium on the USC campus.