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Michelangelo art to come to life with high-tech ‘artainment’

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giudizio universale artainment michelangelo artainment

A new production will blend live theatre and cinema. Called Giudizio Universale: Michelangelo and the Secrets of the Sistine Chapel – the production will bring visitors face-to-face with the famed artist and his work.

Director Marco Balich put together the hour-long artainment production about Michelangelo. The production took four years to put together and was thanks to a private investment of €9 million ($11 million).

giudizio universale

The 1763-seat theatre features a stage and huge, 270 degree projector screen. The audience is transformed down the street to the Vatican, and inside the paintings themselves.

The Vatican has provided the high-resolution images of the Sistine Chapel at a reduced rate in recognition of the show’s educational value.

The play is staged in nine languages, so the action is predominately lead by points and gestures from the cast as a prerecorded audio track narrates the action.

giudizio universale

The production outlines Michelangelo’s history as an artist, as well as dramatic enactments of each panel of the chapel ceiling. Dancers perform alongside elaborate stage sets.

The website of the performance calls it the birth of a new genre – artainment. It defines artainment as “connecting the fascination and beauty of the finest worldwide artistic icons with the emotional and engaging codes of entertainment.”

“An amazing journey that will revolutionise the entertainment world.”

Digital and immersive artainment

Earlier this year, teamLab created a digital-only art museum in Japan.  The ground-breaking immersive digital art museum is sold out on its opening day in Tokyo.

The interactive, digital art moves across the walls and floors of the space, creating a totally immersive experience.

Culturespaces and Barco also created the first digital art museum for Paris this summer. The art experience located at Atelier des Lumières immerses visitors in rooms filled with sumptuous Klimt imagery.

The demand for digital art continues to rise as immersive multi-sensory experiences appeal to new and younger markets.

Image courtesy Giudizio Universale

Sistine Chapel, the Ride? See Inside Michelangelo’s Masterpieces in Rome’s High-Tech Theatrical Production

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Michael Mander

Michael Mander

I am a journalist from Essex, England. I enjoy travelling, and love exploring attractions around the world. I graduated from Lancaster University in 2018. Twitter @michael_mander.

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