Andrea Bocelli & Giacomo Puccini Hologram

Live Motion-Controlled Hologram Show 2018, International Robotics Festival, Pisa
Giacomo Puccini, Andrea Bocelli and his wife Veronica chat live thanks to the Magic of Holograms at the International Festival of Robotics – Pisa

A new spectacle between Virtual and Real – live on the stage of the Teatro Verdi, Pisa

With the technologies of MDH Hologram and partner Studio Tangram, live music and stunning performances, their creators took the audience on a journey through time:

Pisa October 4 – An entirely new spectacle between music, advanced technology and a bit of magic, was staged at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa. The closing night of the 2nd Festival of Robotics featured a high-definition hologram of Giacomo Puccini, Andrea Bocelli and his wife Veronica was created by MDH Hologram and their Italian partner Studio Tangram – international leaders in the production of 3D holograms and the organisation of holographic events.

The world-famous Tuscan composer, Giacomo Puccini author of timeless works such as La Bohème or Tosca, appeared in holographic form to a live audience – performed by Renato Raimo. Raimo, the artistic director of the Festival, developed the idea of ​​the performance, interacting live with acclaimed musician Andrea Bocelli and his wife Veronica. In never seen before realism, the boundaries between virtual and real were blurred, resulting in an emotional and visually mesmerising show:

In some moments of the evening, Puccini disappeared and reappeared to the public in the form of an Avatar, made with the most modern holographic visualisation techniques, animation, 3D graphics and motion capture by Studio Tangram, MDH Hologram and 3D Academy.

As highlight of the evening, the hologram of Andrea Bocelli and his wife Veronica appeared, and at the request of Puccini, performed a warm-up routine, only to be interrupted by the real Andrea and Veronica joining its hologram in the flesh. The real and  virtual couple each claim their own authenticity, exchanging jokes. As one of the two couples fade, they leave the stage to the real Andrea Bocelli to sing with Puccini’s avatar in real time.

The “Pepper’s ghost” holographic illusion created by MDH Hologram and Studio Tangram use the most advanced technologies, a scientific application of the “Pepper’s ghost”, an illusion technique used in the theatre, in Houses of Horror and in various magic tricks.

Originally the trick was based on a giant glass plate, which simulated the appearance or disappearance of objects, as well as their transparency or absence of physicality. Today, it is the set of the most advanced technology both for the production of contents and for the installation of the holographic theatre. Although the invention is attributed to the philosopher and alchemist Giovanni Battista Della Porta (16th century), it bears the name of the chemist Dr. John Henry Pepper, who used the effect in the 19th century. Pepper’s ghost can be considered the closest ancestor of the cinematic show.

MDH Hologram and Studio Tangram’s holograms created holographic performances for international events such as the 2018 World Cup of Russia, the Milan EXPO, the America’s Cup, the elections that led to the appointment of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recreating virtual characters and objects with exceptional realism and a remarkable scenic impact.

The International Robotics Festival was organized by the Arpa Foundation with the support of the Tuscany Region, the Municipality of Pisa, the Province of Pisa, the University of Pisa, the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, the National Research Council of Pisa, the Istituto di Pisa BioRobotica of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, “E.Piaggio” Research Center of the University of Pisa, Endocas Center of Excellence of the University of Pisa, Irccs Stella Maris Foundation, Chamber of Commerce and Pisana University Hospital.

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