To keep viewers entertained
during the coronavirus pandemic, NHK’s, the world’s first 8K broadcast channel,
has premiered Giselle, a romantic
ballet performance that was produced during Japan’s lockdown.
The 106-minute-long programme
was jointly created by NHK with the Opéra National de Paris, and led by NHK
executive producer Kobayashi Yasuko, who has been producing musical performing
arts programmes for more than 20 years.
The
NHK crew used six 8K cameras and Hamasaki 22.2 multi-channel surround-sound technology – involving the smallest number of staff
members possible for the sake of safety – to capture the performance at the
Palais Garnier.
The ballet was conducted by
Koen Kessels, with a stellar cast featuring reknowned names such as Dorothée
Gilbert as Giselle, Mathieu Ganio as Albrecht, Valentine Colasante as Myrtha,
and Audric Bezard as Hilarion.
Giselle first premiered in 1841 at the Académie Royal de Musique,
the forerunner of the Paris Opera and one of the signature works of the opera’s
repertoire.
Describing the performance,
the channel controller of the Hamasaki 22.2 post-production workflow, Ochiai
Jun, said: “People can’t directly experience the performing arts right now, so
I’m delighted that we can use television to bring viewers into one of the
world’s finest centres of artistic excellence.”
Japan’s major TV broadcasters began
broadcasting in ultra-high definition on satellite channels on 1 December 2018.
The country’s only public broadcaster, NHK, since then has launched 4K and 8K
channels.
NHK’s 8K channel operates for 12 hours (from
10am to 10pm) every day. Its content encompasses drama, music, documentaries,
culture, and travel.