KAGAMI at Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay

“For this hour, conjured images are more real than the tangible world. Lift the goggles and everything disappears. Kagami is both graceful elegy and transportation.”
– Observer  

“A spellbinding performance by the late Ryuichi Sakamoto”
– Daily Telegraph 

“a fantastic and totally unique experience among mixed reality events that I have ever seen”
– medium.com 

A transcendental concert experience unlike any other by one of the world’s most celebrated contemporary composers.

Created as a collaboration between the legendary composer, producer and cultural icon Ryuichi Sakamoto and Tin Drum, KAGAMI represents a new kind of concert. Fusing an authentic, dimensionally captured performance with the real world and powerful sound design, this groundbreaking production blends the recording with reality, to create an unparalleled musical experience of Sakamoto’s stirring works.

KAGAMI, which translates to “mirror” in Japanese, is one of Sakamoto’s final works. This production sees him returning to the solo piano repertoire most cherished by his fans, with featured compositions like Energy Flow and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, along with rarely played pieces, such as the unreleased BB, dedicated to director Bernardo Bertolucci. Fans of the late Sakamoto can experience his artistry through extraordinary technological innovation by the studio Tin Drum, the world’s premier creator of mixed reality events.

Set on the stage of Esplanade Theatre, audiences will wear optically transparent devices that show an augmented Sakamoto performing at the piano, while dynamic, dimensional art elements unfold synchronously with intricately designed stage lighting. In this intimate space, you are invited to experience this augmented reality performance as you wish: move around Sakamoto and observe him up close, wander through the multimedia elements, or take it all in while seated at a distance.

Presented in surround sound, the experience is both collective and individual, inviting observers to connect to the work—and each other—throughout. The result is an intimate musical experience with deep human connotations, which transforms the entire space into a unique opportunity for emotional and artistic connection.