Opera Parallèle presents Everest: Opera In The Planetarium
Everest, the internationally renowned opera composed by Joby Talbot with a libretto by Gene Scheer, will be presented in a bold new iteration, Everest: Opera in the Planetarium. Based on the true story of a 1996 ill-fated expedition to summit Mount Everest, Everest: Opera in the Planetarium is presented in the groundbreaking medium of a powerful opera transformed into a riveting graphic novel film projected across the arched dome of the planetarium in an expansive soundscape. Audiences will climb to new heights in the immersive environment of the California Academy of Sciences Morrison Planetarium, one of the largest and most advanced all-digital domes in the world.
With a rich recording of a renowned opera cast and orchestra led by award winning conductor Nicole Paiement, the animations come to life through facial tracking technology which transform the impassioned singer's facial movements (during the time of recording) to animated graphics which track to the singer's voices. The result is a contemporary immersive operatic experience which is further enriched by the state of the art surround sound of the planetarium and comfortably reclined seats. This operatic adventure fuses vivid imagery with the visceral power sublimely recorded renowned singers and gripping orchestration, in a multi-dimensional dome environment for a truly unique experience. (This is not a live opera, but an immersive operatic experience).
Everest: Opera in the Planetarium
Composer: Joby Talbot
Librettist: Gene Scheer
November 8-17, 2024
Morrison Planetarium, California Academy of Sciences