Music comes alive in latest virtual experience Mozart Immersive: Soul of a Genius

Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago’s latest exhibition, Mozart Immersive: The Soul of a Genius opened on March 10. Behind the same team that created Immersive Van Gogh, they took this medium in a new direction.

While Mozart was no painter, his music has stood the test of time. In this show, instead of the visuals, the main focus is the numerous compositions that Mozart curated. However, there are still captivating visuals for those to enjoy. 

Photo by RYAN WINDLE

The creative team used AI image generation as an inspiration to design the original visuals that are displayed. The show takes you through various scenes of Mozart’s life and the destinations that Mozart himself experienced.

Creator Massimiliano Siccardi emphasized that the show is intended to represent multiple facets of Mozart’s life. 

“With this piece, we wanted to represent every part of Mozart’s life, from his happy times as a child prodigy and throughout his amazingly prolific career, creating some of the best music ever composed,” said Siccardi. “We want the audience to see the world through Mozart’s eyes, both humanizing him and celebrating his genius and incredible body of work.”

The exhibit is accompanied by Grammy-nominated Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Constantine Orbelian, who is a four-time Grammy nominee. 

With a unique visual and auditory experience, Mozart Immersive: The Soul of a Genius has a new addition to a typical Lighthouse offering, which is footage of actors present. 

The actor in the show, Mikhail Baryshnikov, plays Mozart’s father, Leopold. 

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to portray one of the most obvious, albeit controversial, figures in Mozart’s life in this truly distinctive immersive presentation,” said Baryshnikov. 

He continued, “Leopold Mozart took his young son to the heights of stardom, only to become a contentious influence on Mozart in his adulthood. Since this exhibition is an exploration of Mozart’s soul, Leopold is a character to be paid attention to.” 

Co-founder of Lighthouse Immersive and producer of Mozart Immersive Svetlana Dvoretsky wanted to make sure that in order to do Mozart justice, the best talent and technology were used. 

“In order to fully capture the genius of Mozart’s oeuvre of work, we brought together top-level talent from the world of classical music for the score, but we also wanted to use groundbreaking AI technology to help create the projection’s beautiful and inventive imagery,” said Dvoretsky.

She continued, “With the help of Maestro Constantine Orbelian, we have created a magnificent, melodic soundscape to accompany the visuals crafted by our creative team.”

Mozart Immersive: The Soul of a Genius runs through May 29 at Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago.