AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France — The world of classical music is still figuring out what to do with virtual reality, an emerging technology that can be buggy and burdensome. So far, orchestras and opera houses have come up with little more than 360-degree videos that show concerts from the perspective of the conductor’s podium. But there is a breakthrough in Michel van der Aa’s “Eight,” a so-called mixed reality work that had its premiere last month in Amsterdam and is currently on view here at the Aix Festival, through July 30, at Château La Coste. She beckons you to follow her down a corridor with white walls; once you start walking, you almost never stop, even as the hallway seems to open up into a mountainside and the full cosmos. (In reality, this all takes place in a space no larger than a bedroom.)

Source: New York Times July 05, 2019 17:30 UTC