An experiment with artificial intelligence at the annual Richard Wagner festival in Bayreuth, Germany, drew boos from the audience after a staging that appeared to confuse some spectators, according to ABC News.
German news agency dpa reported that curator Marcus Lobbes and his team were met with boos and whistles when they appeared on stage after Saturday evening’s performance of “Götterdämmerung.” The audience did, however, respond warmly to the singers and musicians, especially conductor Christian Thielemann.
Festival organizers said before the performance that it was the first time AI had been used on stage at the event, not as a character but as an image-generating force. They said the singers were intended to remain the fixed point amid changing projections of light, texture, history and association.
The AI-assisted visuals included images from earlier performances in Wagner’s “Ring” cycle as well as historical themes selected in advance by Lobbes, who leads the Academy for Theater and Digitality in Dortmund, and his team. dpa said the projected collage puzzled some in the audience, with images including former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the World Trade Center towers after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and a postage stamp marking German reunification in 1990. Two more performances are scheduled.
