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This is a post-production of the multidisciplinary joint case study performance Maria Callas the Immortal heroine in the context of the Horizon Europe Project CAPHE - Communities and Artistic Participation in Hybrid Environments, including theatre, music, dance, immersive videos, VR Technologies, 360 audio. The Opera premiered in Athens in 2023 on the occasion of Callas 100 Celebration, and was met with extraordinary audience acclaim, in 2025 anew updated version was presented in XR Festival Florence in the maravellous Cathedral of the Image with 28 projectors, videomapping and and live MoCap system. The project continued in summer 2025 with a tour within the Umbria Cantat Festival, staging site-specific performances. Maria Callas the immortal heroine. VR Hybrid Opera Complete Audio - Video Playlist including Acting, Music and Dancehttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJJChgOGCbAVF5-UfauBoS3AvB_RFTggt Maria Callas the immortal heroine. VR Hybrid Opera Athens 2023 - Trailerhttps://zenodo.org/records/17768207 XR FESTIVAL FLORENCE 2025https://zenodo.org/records/17919168 Carla Zanin Playwriter, Stage Director, Video, Costumes, VR Scenes Musical Program 1. Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Ouverture 2. Pietro Mascagni Cavalleria rusticana Voi lo sapete o Mamma Francesca Paoletti 3. Giacomo Puccini Gianni Schicchi O mio babbino caro Despina Anagnou 4. Vincenzo Bellini Norma Casta diva Francesca Paoletti 5. George Bizet Carmen L'amour est un oiseau rebelleFrancesca Paoletti 6. Giuseppe Verdi Macbeth Nel dì della vittoria Despina Anagnou, Dimosthenis Philip Modinos 7. Giacomo Puccini Manon Lescaut Intermezzo 8. Giacomo Puccini Tosca Vissi d’arteFrancesca Paoletti 9. Federico Bardazzi / Guido Paolo Longo / Carla Zanin Soul Odyssey 10. Giuseppe Verdi La traviata Sempre libera Despina Anagnou, Philip Modinos 11. Luigi Cherubini Médée Finale Despina Anagnou MédéePhilip Modinos JasonAneta Witosz Amneris 12. Umberto Giordano Andrea Chénier La mamma morta recording by Maria Callas ENSEMBLE SAN FELICEMusic Director Federico BardazziLetters by Callas and other references are part of the book: Maria Callas, io Maria by Tom Volf Virtual Stage OrchestraMusical Direction and Artistic Research within from KA2 Virtual Stage Project to CAPHE Conceived by Carla Zanin, Virtual Stage – Visions and Uncharted Horizons for a New Live Performance Scene was developed as an open artistic environment aimed at rethinking Opera in a cutting-edge approach through the interaction of immersive technologies applied to performing arts. Since 2020, the European Union and numerous institutions have funded the development of this long-term artistic research supporting it through several major programs and initiatives, including the Erasmus+ KA2 projects Virtual Stage (2020), In Media Stat Virtus (2021), Metamorphoses (2022), Creative Europe project Let’s Sing Opera (2023). At national level, further support was provided by the Italian Ministry of Culture through the projects Hybrid Opera (2023) and Immersive Performances (2024), Umbria Cantat (2024-2025).Alongside the development of technologies applied to the creation of an immersive and integrated stage, one of the main areas of research focuses on the Virtual Stage Orchestra. Its development was coordinated by Federico Bardazzi, who, as orchestra conductor and researcher, guided the evolution of the project in close collaboration with sound engineers Nicola Cavina and Guido Paolo Longo, whose experstise in sound design, sampling processes and audio technologies played a central role in the construction of the orchestral system. Artistic research is widely acknowledged as being inherently practice-based; accordingly, the project was developed, tested and progressively refined through a series of productions realised in Italy and abroad, during which different orchestral configurations were systematically investigated within live performance settings. The present multitrack recording, based on the use of MIDI keyboards represents the point of arrival of this extended experimentation process, consolidating years of research into a structured and transferable musical outcome. The use of MIDI instruments proved to be particularly effective within multitrack recording processes. In this context, we experimented the simultaneous recording of up to five MIDI keyboards, while the solo voice is captured through an acoustic microphone. This configuration allows each instrumental layer to remain fully separated during post-production and editing phases, offering high flexibility in sound balancing, intonation and sound quality of each single part. In baroque repertoire in particular, this method makes it possible to add, subtract or reshape basso continuo instruments during post-production, enabling multiple interpretative solutions and a more precise optimisation of the instrumental arrangement. At the same time, since instrumentalists and the solo voice perform simultaneously while connected through headphones, musical interplay and emotional connection between performers are preserved. This approach avoids the fragmentation typical of conventional multitrack recording with physical instruments, where each part is often recorded separately at different moments, potentially reducing ensemble interaction and expressive continuity.A fundamental technical component of this experimentation concerned the design of dedicated MIDI patches. Before each production, sound engineer Guido Paolo Longo developed specific configurations for every MIDI keyboard, optimised according to the orchestral writing and instrumental range required by the repertoire. In many cases, a single 88-key keyboard is divided into two functional sections. For example, the upper register assigned to the right hand could reproduce First Violins, while the lower section assigned to the left hand could reproduce Second Violins. A similar approach was applied to wind instruments, such as Oboes in the upper section and Bassoons in the lower section, with keyboard splits designed according to the natural tessitura of each instrument. In certain productions — particularly within baroque operatic repertoire — the same musician plays two keyboards simultaneously, for instance one dedicated to organ and one to harpsichord. Through the use of specific software (such as Kontakt), it is also possible to switch instrument families in real time, moving for example from organ or harpsichord to harp or regal. This approach allows a single player to generate an exceptionally rich and varied timbral palette, significantly expanding orchestral colour. Beyond performance contexts, this system also proves highly valuable from a pedagogical perspective. It enables the creation of tailor-made tutorials based on orchestral instrumentation rather than on traditional piano reductions, offering students a more accurate understanding of orchestral texture, balance and instrumental interaction. Another significant aspect of the research concerns the digital reproduction of instrumental timbres. In its initial phase, the work focused on the philological digital reconstruction of medieval and baroque instruments, aiming to preserve stylistic coherence, articulation and timbral identity through carefully designed sampling processes. Subsequently, the research expanded towards traditional and ethnic instruments, particularly in relation to transcultural projects developed in countries such as Kenya and Greece. This gradual expansion of the sound palette led to a progressive enlargement of the instrumental models, moving from early and historical repertoires to the classical orchestra and finally towards symphonic orchestra. Each phase did not replace the previous one, but layered new possibilities onto an evolving musical system capable of addressing different repertoires and dramaturgical contexts. In Maria Callas – The Immortal Heroine, documented in this complete audio-video post-production multitrack recording playlist, the Virtual Stage Orchestra reaches a mature stage of application. As the culmination of a five-year artistic research, the Virtual Stage Orchestra proposes a vision of innovative musical practice devoted to sound quality and interpretation. Technical Framework: MIDI-Instrumental Setups Throughout the extensive experimental process, different operational modalities were tested and progressively refined. These experiences made it possible to identify several recurring configurations, which can be synthesized into the following main MIDI-based setups:Hybrid Use within Historical and Ethnic Repertoire SetupsThese hybrid midi - physical instruments setups are dedicated to early and traditional music repertoires, allowing historical performance practices to be reinterpreted within innovative production contexts. Medieval MusicIn medieval repertoire, the hybrid instrumental ensemble uses MIDI keyboards primarily to reproduce and integrate the following instruments: – Portative Organ– Psaltery– Medieval Flutes– Shawm– Dulcian– Bells– Percussion Instruments Baroque Music(primarily seventeenth-century opera, with particular reference Monteverdi and early Baroque repertoire) For Baroque productions, hybrid orchestral setups in combination with physical instruments are developed to reflect historically informed practice. MIDI keyboards are used to reproduce and support mainly the following instruments: – Triple Harp– Positive Organ (8’, 8’+4’, 8’+4’+2’)– Harpsichord– Regal– Cornetts– Natural Trombones– Recorders– Gamba– Baroque Cello– Baroque Double Bass– Percussion Instruments Ethnic and Traditional MusicIn transcultural projects, hybrid instrumental setups are developed in close dialogue with local musicians, enabling the integration of traditional instruments within the Virtual Stage Orchestra system. In order to preserve the originality of the melodic cells, specific patterns were recorded in MIDI format, allowing the distinctive