NZ Opera partnership diversifying the language of opera for Braille users

The great works of opera can now be enjoyed in real time by blind and low vision music lovers.

New Zealand Opera has aligned with tech start-up contexts.live, which delivers the opera's surtitles directly to patrons' Braille-reading devices.

Surtitles are captions projected on a screen above the stage in an opera, translating the text being sung.

"It's a beautiful thing to be able to offer this accessibility to members of our blind and low vision community." Joanne Cole, director of artistic planning and participation, told Concert's Bryan Crump.

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The latest development was trialled by NZ Opera during Rossini's comedy Le Comte Ory, she said.

"It has been a world first, and we've received immense interest from all around the world, from people that realised the capability of the technology."

The listener could feel the action on their device, she said.

"So in Le Comte Ory being a comedy, we had one member in particular say that it was the first time they truly felt included, to be able to laugh along, knowing what everyone else was laughing about.

"So it's one thing, which is beautiful, to have the action described, but it's a whole other level, I think, to fully feel included."

In its latest production, Verdi's Rigoletto, New Zealand Opera had also added another language, simplified Chinese.

"It is two written forms of Chinese characters, so simplified and traditional, it's more common across several dialects."

Patrons would follow along on their own devices, she said.

"We've just printed QR codes on the back of our programme, people can scan it with their own devices, and they can have English surtitles as well, delivered to their own device, if they choose, or they can have simplified Chinese.

"And it just bounces along in real time. You don't have to do anything. It will just be delivered into your device."