“In the coming year, both musicians and concertgoers will confront the growing presence of ‘hologram’ shows at local concert venues,” writes David Friend in last Monday’s (12/31) Toronto Star (Canada). “The virtual likeness of deceased crooner Roy Orbison received mixed reviews a few months ago. Opera singer Maria Callas was also resurrected…. Glenn Gould will be added to the hologram circuit in 2019, with the late Canadian pianist accompanied by live orchestras as part of a tour organized in co-operation with his estate…. Amy Winehouse’s hologram is set to embark on a multi-year run with a backing band, while Swedish pop superstars ABBA will launch a digital reunion. These shows aren’t true holograms in the technical sense, but rather three-dimensional images projected through mirrors onto a transparent screen…. Most performances [are] also part of an elaborate studio production where the faces of the deceased performers are transposed onto the bodies of living actors.” Says Walk Off the Earth singer Sarah Blackwood, “As an artist, one of things we always talk about is how we’re going to leave our legacy…. To have the possibility to come back and share music with people, and live on like that, I think that’s a really interesting concept.”
Posted January 7, 2019
