Big data capture at the Finnish National Opera

Last week, the XTREME project carried out a major data capture session at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, contributing to the development of a dedicated mixed reality experience connected to the opera Morgonstjärnan – The Morning Star, which had its world premiere in Helsinki at the end of January.

During the week, the XTREME team captured three selected scenes — Scenes 4, 6, and 24 — forming a central part of the material for the upcoming immersive production. We are grateful for the remarkable performances and professionalism of the singers, which made the capture both efficient and artistically powerful.

Captured Scenes

Scene 4 was recorded with Jenny Carlstedt and Tommi Kekarainen.
Scene 6 featured Helena Juntunen and Janne Sihvo.
Scene 24 included performances by Johan Reuter, Maria Lenart, and Jere Hölttä.

We sincerely thank the singers for their professionalism and collaboration during the capture process. It was a big privilege to be part of that process!

Throughout the week, we collaborated closely with Harri Karri, conductor at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, who conducted the selected scenes specifically for the capture sessions. Thank you!

About the Opera

Morgonstjärnan – The Morning Star is a new opera commissioned by the Finnish National Opera and Ballet. The story is based on the novel by Karl Ove Knausgård, with music composed by Sebastian Fagerlund, libretto by Gunilla Hemming, and stage direction by Thomas de Mallet Burgess.

XTREME is proud to collaborate with the FNOB team to develop a mixed reality production inspired by this work, exploring how immersive technologies can extend and reframe contemporary opera for new audiences.

Capture and Collaboration

The capture was carried out by a multidisciplinary team working across creative direction, research, and technical production.

XTREME Capture Team:

• Ane Skak – creative direction of the capture and the MR experience (Immersive Stories)
• Paul Tennent – lead of integration, Black Magic and face camera video capture (University of Nottingham)
• Justyna Starostka – script supervision and production documentation (IT University of Copenhagen)
• Eero Auvinen – close up mics on signers (Finnish National Opera and Ballet)
• Caroline Costa da Silva Gaudeoso – ambisonic microphones capture (IT University of Copenhagen)
• Harshit – GoPros video capture (IT University of Copenhagen)
• Ariel Gjaci and Ritujoy Biswas – Eigenmike sound capture (IIT)
• Sami S. Brandt – XTREME coordinator (IT University of Copenhagen)

Special appreciations goes to Miia Lallukka, Timo Tuovila, Thomas de Mallet Burgess and Kalle Rasinkangas for making it happen and your support throughout the process.

Moving into Post-Production

With all three scenes successfully captured, the project now enters the post-production phase, where the material will be integrated into XTREME’s mixed reality experience.

For more information about the opera and its world premiere, please visit the Finnish National Opera and Ballet’s official website, see the link here.

Stay tuned — more updates coming soon.

Photos: Justyna Starostka