2007 . 4D play
Ready for performance
On the 111th anniversary of Bruckner's death (Thursday, October 11, 2007), I completed the first full version of the screenplay for the visual realization of BRUCKNER'S NINTH and had the original copyrighted and sealed by a court.
The very next Monday, October 15th, my acquaintance, Prince Heinrich XIII of Reuss, had arranged a meeting in Gera, Thuringia, with the director of the beautiful Art Nouveau theater there, to explore a suitable date for the premiere of Bruckner's Ninth Symphony. Director Professor M. Oldag is an extremely experienced opera director and always open to new ideas, making him exactly the right person for this ambitious project.
I left the director the first copy of the freshly printed screenplay together with an adequate working study by our friend, the cinematographer J. Herrmann (Haydn's Funeral Symphony).
Since, after the visit and also Brandauer's statement, it was virtually certain that Bruckner's Ninth Symphony would probably work best on such an opera stage, and that Bruckner's original operatic intention, which can be traced back to his role model Wagner, could thus be best realized, I immediately began to consider the possibility of a currently feasible, three-dimensional stage realization.
The idea that came to mind was the TheaterVision technology DCI 3D, which isn't yet widely known in this country. In the USA, there are already dedicated cinemas for this spectacular 3D technology, as it's unlike anything seen before (not even IMAX or Cineplex). There's no flickering, the image is always perfectly stable (no "3D headaches"), the three-dimensional illusion is incredibly realistic, and the reduced brightness typical of "conventional" 3D is gone. This technology would still need to be adapted to the requirements of my Sinfonìa visìbile.
This also meant that, prior to production, we would have to record not only in high definition but also in 3D, which increased costs enormously.
So what, it's worth considering. One thing is certain for me today: when Bruckner's Ninth Symphony is finished, it will most likely premiere in this traditional princely opera house, the home of Prince Reuss's ancestors. Here, where several revolutionary works by a certain Bertolt Brecht were already tested before an audience – before they became worldwide successes...
... a truly good omen!
