The opera just got a whole lot more inclusive for deaf and hard of hearing audience members at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
This is thanks to a pilot program to bring the SoundShirt to opera lovers: a device worn as a jacket that’s equipped with 16 haptic actuators that transmit sound from the stage into pulses, vibrations, and other sensations.
While the Lyric has championed accessibility measures like performances with American Sign Language interpretation, projected subtitles, and assisted listening devices, as well as Braille and large-print programs, audio-described performances, and pre-performance “touch tours,” the SoundShirt brings a newfound innovation to the performing arts.
Inside the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Photo courtesy of the Lyric Opera of Chicago
“The live opera performance is captured with microphones, with engineers mixing the music from each section of the orchestra and the singers. The sound is then transformed into touch data and the signal is wirelessly broadcast to the SoundShirt,” the Lyric’s website explained.
The shirt is embedded with haptic devices that then translate sound into dynamic vibrations across the wearer’s torso. They might feel the strings of a violin on their arms, and the beat of a drum on their back.
“When combined with the projected English titles or sign language interpretation, it’s the most fully experiential way for someone who is deaf or hard of hearing to experience live opera,” the Lyric continued.
Performances are recorded and broadcast as haptic feedback in the SoundShirt. Photo courtesy of CuteCircuit
“It doesn’t re-create the experience of listening to music,” Brad Dunn of the Lyric told the Washington Post. “It’s its own thing. It translates the music into a different sensory experience that can be felt by people. And what I’ve seen through all of the early testing that we did is that audiences who are deaf or hard of hearing have responded very viscerally to it.”
The SoundShirt pilot was launched with the support of Chicago’s Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, and there are currently 10 shirts available at the Lyric, with plans to invest in five more.
Created by London-based technology design firm CuteCircuit, each shirt retails for about $1,900. They are free for patrons to use at performances at the Lyric.
“That, to me, is what opera is all about,” Lyric’s general director, Anthony Freud, told the Washington Post. “This was an opportunity to have a physical relationship with the music being performed, and that gets to the very heart of opera.”
Beyond Lyric, SoundShirt has been integrated into a variety of live events, including sports, gaming, and even club DJ performances.
“What you can hear,” one person in the audience of a symphony shared via sign language, “I can feel.”
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A version of this article was originally published in The 2024 Music Edition of the Goodnewspaper.
Header image courtesy of CuteCurcuit
