Article

Rethinking Operatic Presence through Volumetric Capture: Augmented Reality Opera from Montreal to Belfast

Zoey Mariniello Cochran, Clémentine Brochet and Dafydd Hall Williams

Published in: Ethnomusicology Ireland 11 (2026)
Pages: 110-131 | Published Online: 19 June 2026
https://doi.org/10.64208/HJIM9563

Abstract

This article discusses two research-creation projects developed simultaneously in different contexts–OpéRA de poche (2021–2026), a collaboration between the Canada Research Chair in Opera Creation and the Opéra de Montréal (Montreal, Canada), and the AR Opera App (2020–2023) developed by Ulster Touring Opera (Belfast, United Kingdom)–in order to contribute to ongoing reflections on operatic presence, liveness, and the relationship between opera and immersive technologies. Both projects turned towards volumetric capture with the goal of making opera more accessible through augmented reality (AR), without losing the power of presence and especially the liveness of voice. The technical and artistic decisions taken in each project highlight the complexity of broadcasting opera and suggest that sound, rather than visuals, may be the key to recreating operatic presence.

Keywords: operatic presence, volumetric capture, augmented reality (AR), liveness, digital opera, immersive technologies

Author: Zoey Mariniello Cochran | ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3604-6479

Zoey Mariniello Cochran is a classically trained singer and musicologist specialising in opera history and research-creation methodologies. She is currently Visiting Professor of Musicology at the Université de Montréal and has been the research director of the Canada Research Chair in Opera Creation since 2021.

Author: Clémentine Brochet

Clémentine Brochet is an emerging artist using extended reality (XR) in her practice. As co-technical director of the OpéRA de poche project, she helped develop the volumetric capture system. She also co-directed the opera “Une maison dans la main”.

Author: Dafydd Hall Williams

Dafydd Hall Williams is currently artistic director of Ulster Touring Opera (UTO) and CEO of HoloEdge Ltd. He was the driving force behind UTO’s augmented reality projects and directed “AR Don Giovanni”, “Song to the Moon” and “Ill Fitting Clothes”.