The intersection of live and digital: new technical classifications for digital scenography in opera

Over the past decade, there has been a substantive increase in the number of theatrical productions that utilise digital scenography. Whether in dance, theatre or opera, these works encounter a number of artistic and technical challenges, as well as scrutiny from those who consider digital effects as interfering with live performers in the context of legacy art forms. While the use of digital technology in theatre has been the subject of study by scholars such as Auslander, Baugh and Salter, the use of digital enhancement in opera production has received far less attention, particularly in terms of the scenographic conventions that have emerged as a result of advancing technologies. Because opera is largely defined and constrained by highly traditional production conventions, including a seated orchestra and unamplified singers, the genre provides a unique framework for considering the use of new technologies in the performative space. This article will propose a method for classifying and quantifying digitally enhanced theatrical productions and explore the resulting dramaturgical implications through a close study of three productions of Mozart’s The Magic Flute.