Visualizing the classics

Carlus Padrissa, director of La Fura dels Baus, says that audience was able to interact with the performance via a mobile app, bridging the gap between the environmental themes the production explored and their daily lives.

Padrissa says that the treelike installation they built on stage was an attempt to represent the power of life and nature by inviting the audience to not only listen to the music, but also "watch" it with their eyes, and respond using their phones.

"The key is to engage audiences with the music and the musicians. Technology plays an important role in that by preparing them for, and getting them excited about, an event, as well as connecting them to the musicians and allowing them to participate," he says.

The Spanish troupe has visited China many times and has worked on large international events, including World Expo 2010 Shanghai.

Soprano Sophie Karthauser and four dancers, among them Luis Garcia and Quico Torrent, also performed.