Google puts you virtually on stage at concerts and operas

From Carnegie Hall to the Metropolitan Opera in New York to the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Google Cultural Institute announced that they will be partnering with 60 worldwide performing arts institutes to bring 360-degree performances to your desktop or mobile, thanks to YouTube.

Whether it is the effect of being seated smack dab at center stage as acclaimed actor Alex Hassel delivers the classic monologue from Shakespeare’s Henry V, to being propped at a vantage point amidst the string section of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, a performance doesn’t get more immersive than this.

The videos here have up to three viewpoints through which the scene can be experienced. These are best experienced using Google Cardboard along with a good set of headphones. But note that the videos are bandwidth-heavy, so make sure they’re launched over a fast connection or there’s bound to be plenty of stutter and buffering.

Across Music, Opera, Theatre, Dance and Performance Art, dive into these VR videos at the Google Cultural Institute here.

To start, check out this experience of the Paris Opera-3e Scène presentation of Benjamin Millepied’s ballet Clear, Loud, Bright, Forward.