Italian opera company using Google Glass to stream interactive performances

Google Glass may not be welcomed at movie theaters, but the popular wearable computer is getting a free pass to an opera house in Italy during a show being performed in Cagliari later this week. On Wednesday, cast and crew members from an Italian opera company will wear Mountain View’s high-tech eyewear during a performance of Puccini’s Turandot.

This special opera will transmit live feeds of the show from its Glass wearing cast members that will be viewable through its website and Facebook. The remote broadcasts will hopefully open the show to a new audience, while letting existing fans watch parts of the performance without having to leave their homes.

“If a soccer player wore Google Glass, you’d see the ball coming,” Mauro Meli, general manager of the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari told The New York Times. “The technology will also enable the performs to stream an insider’s view of the drama both onstage and backstage to the audience. We want to communicate the art of opera hoping that it will engage and interest people who normally don’t go to see performances.”

It’s definitely great to see Google Glass change the way people interact with entertainment, but streaming video of a performance really isn’t taking advantage of the wearable’s tech. Hopefully this is just the first step of many efforts that will help Glass reach its true potential.