From 18 April to 16 May, 2024, the exhibition OPERA MEETS NEW MEDIA – Puccini, Ricordi and the Rise of the Modern Entertainment Industry was shown at Bertelsmann’s premises „Unter den Linden 1“ in the heart of Berlin.
From April 18 to May 16, 2024, Bertelsmann presented the interplay of opera and media in the early 20th century in a multimedia exhibition at its Berlin representative premises „Unter den Linden 1“. Numerous original documents from the Archivio Storico Ricordi, which is part of Bertelsmann, were also on display.
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) conquered the whole world with his music. His operas have been among the world’s most frequently performed works for over 100 years without interruption. The timeless, emotional Puccini sound continues to inspire and touch people to this day.
Puccini celebrated his greatest successes at a time of revolutionary media innovations. The development of new entertainment technology, first and foremost film and sound recordings, which soon became widespread, represented a revolution for society and musical culture in the early 20th century, fundamentally challenging the traditional business model of musical theater. It multiplied the distribution of dramatic music and popularized it to an unprecedented extent within just a few years.
The exhibition OPERA MEETS NEW MEDIA – Puccini, Ricordi and the Rise of the Modern Entertainment Industry seeks to uncover the secret of this unprecedented success. It tells of the disruptive forces of new media and their impact; it tells how the artist Puccini and his publisher Ricordi used these times of change to build an international star with the help of modern marketing campaigns; but it also reveals how fundamentally contemporary developments changed the opera business forever.
The exhibition presented this very topical and relevant subject in several audiovisual installations: From the digital 3D modeling of a Puccini portrait to the AI animation of contemporary stage sets.
The accompanying publication „Opera Meets New Media“, edited by curator Gabriele Dotto, is available in bookshops and online.
“Opera Meets New Media” features original documents from the Archivio Storico Ricordi and an artist’s AI animation // Thomas Rabe: “The exhibition contributes to the ongoing discourse about new media and their disruptive influence on business, culture and society.” // The exhibition can be seen daily from April 18 to May 16 at Bertelsmann Unter den Linden in Berlin
“Opera Meets New Media – Puccini, Ricordi, and the Rise of the Modern Entertainment Industry” on the interaction between opera and media in the 20th century // Original documents from Bertelsmann-owned Archivio Storico Ricordi travel to Germany for the first time // Thomas Rabe: “An exhibition about how technological innovations disrupt conventional art forms and create new ones.” // The exhibition can be seen daily at Bertelsmann Unter den Linden 1 from April 18 to May 16
Please use puccini@bertelsmann.de for general inquiries.
Helen Müller
Head of Cultural Affairs and Corporate History
S.V.P. Corporate Communications
Unter den Linden 1, 10117 Berlin
helen.mueller@bertelsmann.de
+49 (0)30-52 00 99 0
Alissa Nordmeier
Expert, Cultural Projects
Unter den Linden 1, 10117 Berlin
Alissa.nordmeier@bertelsmann.de
+49 (0)30-52 00 99 204
Mandy Berghoff
Spokeswoman
Communications Content Team
Carl-Bertelsmann-Str. 270, 33311 Gütersloh
mandy.berghoff@bertelsmann.de
+49 (0)5241-80-78063
Pierluigi Ledda
Managing Director
Archivio Storico Ricordi | Ricordi & C. S.r.l.
Via Brera, 28, 20121 Mailand
info@archivioricordi.com
+39 02 72001168
Chiara Gasparini
Archivio Storico Ricordi | Ricordi & C. S.r.l.
Via Brera, 28, 20121 Mailand
info@archivioricordi.com
+39 02 72001168
Gabriele Dotto
Head of Scholarly Initiatives
Archivio Storico Ricordi
dotto@msu.edu
Ellen Lockhart
Assistant Professor of Musicology
University of Toronto
ellen.lockhart@utoronto.ca
Christy Thomas Adams
Assistant Professor of Musicology
The University of Alabama
cvadams1@ua.edu
