April 28, 2023

Boston Baroque Stages Major Opera in GBH's Calderwood Studio

Terry Quinn

Boston Baroque premiered their opera "Iphigénie en Tauride" by Christoph Willibald Gluck in the Calderwood Studio at GBH on April 21st. Working with the Production Group Studios team, BB was able to stage a full opera in front of a live audience while simultaneously streaming to a virtual audience through Idagio. The recording is also available for extended viewing, thereby extending the potential revenue stream for the non-profit.


BB Opera 1

“I found this process of working on Iphigénie en Tauride with Boston Baroque, GBH and IDAGIO extremely fulfilling and refreshing. I think this production has presented a feasible formula where we keep the unique experience of the “live” performance, but also capture the ephemeral moments on stage and make it available to a broader audience across the world… In addition to thinking about the character building, stage composition and visual design like a conventional stage production, I also incorporated the notion of camera angles into my pre-blocking and design process, which shows in our end result. It demands a lot of advanced planning and the clarity of your dramatic and visual intention. It’s a beautiful collaboration between myself and our livestream director, Matthew Principe,”    Mo Zhou, Stage Director


BB Opera 2


Production Group Lighting Director Phil Reilly worked with the BB team and Television Director Matthew Princepe for months designing the complex production. When the house lights went down and the cameras rolled a flawless production ensued.

(Photo credits: Sam Brewer)