Apr 22
Rite of Spring in 3D: Review
Yesterday, I ventured to Birmingham's Symphony Hall to see Stravinsky's Rite of Spring performed with 3D visuals. Birmingham is not a place I have visited much before, indeed my first ever visit to the Symphony Hall was in March, when I saw Joshua Bell and Stephen Isserlis perform Brahms' "Double" Concerto for Violin and Cello. That performance itself was supremely memorable, and I was very keen to return to the venue soon for another event. In the "future events" listing, this performance of the Rite in 3D caught my eye: it is a supreme piece of music, and I was very keen to see it with this new slant.I attended the first of two performances, which began with Tuning Up by Varèse, an amusing short work, which explored the intriguing sound world of the orchestra tuning up. I really enjoyed this performance, aided by the orchestra's staging, with players still walking onto the stage as the piece commenced, as if the orchestra was actually tuning up! (I'm assuming this was deliberate!)
This was then followed by Liget's Lontanto, another fascinating 20th Century work, which all stems from a single flute Ab. In the audience, you wonder whether additional instruments are joining on other notes, or if you are just hearing overtones from notes already playing. This is another incredible sound world to be submersed in, and I greatly enjoyed these two works to begin the concert.
It was slightly disappointing that these two opening works did not have any 3D visuals alongside them, as I assumed they might, and moreover, due to the big screen erected above the orchestra for the 3D projections, I was unable to see (from my seat) the back half of the orchestra whilst they were playing. However, this is only a very minor quibble, as both pieces were excellently performed, and what followed was truly breathtaking.
The dancer, Julia Mach, performed in a small area, with entirely black floor and background, whilst being tracked by cameras. The absolutely incredible computer technology used this to track her movements and create a 3D model of her on the projection screen, interacting with virtual surroundings.
Many fantastic visual tricks were used, including Matrix-style backgrounds, the dancer's arm turning into a "tentacle", just the leg from foot to knee being shown and then mirrored, before her body finally explodes into a myriad of spheres.
The visuals complemented the music brilliantly, and it was an exceptional concert - I'm so glad I travelled all the way into Birmingham.
