The Cleveland Orchestra presents the Cunning Little Vixen

Heard this on NPR this morning: It's good to hear that my old stomping grounds (Cleveland) is keeping up with culture, and taking some risks as well.



Directed by Yuval Sharon, Franz Welser-Most will lead the Cleveland Orchestra in this latest production of Leos Janácek 1924 opera, The Cunning Little Vixen. And rather than have the performers dress up as animals, the production uses animation projected on large screens.

The unusual foundation of this version of opera requires performers to stick their heads through holes in the screens. This will allow them to line their faces up with the animated character bodies. Director Yuval Sharon's idea goes back to the old sideshow photo stands where you could stick your face through a cutout, and you could have your picture taken as a circus strong man, or even a pretty ballerina.

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2014/05/cleveland_orchestra_aiming_hig.html

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/05/16/313165716/the-cunning-little-vixen-pokes-her-head-into-an-animated-forest

From what I can gather, the animation was produced by the L.A. based Walter Robot studios. The art looks like good old hand drawn designs, and hand made models. The art is animated in After Effects.

http://www.walterrobot.com/index.html

I hope this is a success.