No. 21 MMXX Exhibition

Jam Capsule "Maria by Callas"

No. 21 — MMXX Jam Capsule “Maria by Callas” (Grande Halle de la Villette – 2020)

01 / The exhibition

For the Maria by Callas capsule at the Grande Halle de La Villette, Tom Volf invited visitors to an immersive encounter with the legendary voice of Maria Callas. The fruit of five years of research, supported by the Maria Callas Endowment Fund, the installation was made up exclusively of rare archives: interviews, personal letters narrated by Fanny Ardant, and intimate footage. For the first time, the diva's face and expressions were at the heart of a 360° multisensory installation, offering opera lovers and the curious alike a unique experience to share with the whole family.

03 / Immersive journey

Immersive journey

The Jam Capsule installation

The Jam Capsule is a monumental immersive cell: 12 meters high, 40 long and 25 wide, with 2,500 m² of 4K video projection surface and spatialized sound. A 360° experience of about 50 minutes, created from the previously unseen archives of Tom Volf and the Maria Callas Endowment Fund — narrated by Fanny Ardant.

Where it was shown

Paris, Porte de Versailles : first version, 2017
Paris, Grande Halle de la Villette : 23 June – 12 September 2020 (1^st Jam Capsule edition)
Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles — Hall 5.3 : from 27 April 2022

Concept & directionTom Volf · Technical integration : Videlio · Ticketing : Fever

The experience

An immersive walk-through lasting 45 minutes at the heart of Maria Callas's life, built from five years of archival research. On the program: home movies shot with Grace Kelly, personal letters narrated by Fanny Ardant, interviews and “lost” videos never shown before.

The technical set-up

The Jam Capsule was designed by the Paris studio ATHEM (under the brand The Jam Project) — Tom Volf created the content, ATHEM the scenography and construction. Technical integration was entrusted to Videlio : 14 Barco UDX video projectors of 40,000 lumens each cover the 2,500 m² projection surface, with enveloping spatialized sound.

Prices · tickets

At the Grande Halle de La Villette (2020): €18 full price · €15 members and seniors · €10 ages 7–25 · free for under-7s. Tickets via Fever. The run at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles lasted from 27 April 2022 to 27 April 2024 — two full years.

Official websitejam-experience.com

04 / Press reviews

They've talked about it

Come and discover, in complete intimacy, the legendary Maria Callas in an immersive installation unique in the world, at the heart of the Grande Halle de la Villette. Through previously unseen archives, the fruit of five years of research by director Tom Volf, a very different Callas appears on screen, in a grandiose projection with multidimensional sound. Tom Volf, a recognized expert on the singer, created this capsule to be shared with the whole family, for opera lovers and newcomers alike, who will have the chance to discover the art that Callas made popular and accessible to all.

Tatouvu

Callas in 360°! The content does not settle for an easy compilation of arias: it tells a story. Tom Volf, its director, has subtly interwoven biographical elements and stage performances so that art and teaching can speak as a duet. Every sensibility can find itself in an “experience” that lets us hear, in concert, the exceptional timbre and the inner voice of a woman entirely devoted to her art. Far from glossy-magazine dramas, far from the sad end at 53, alone in her Paris apartment, Callas is given back to us in her radiant simplicity. Infinitely touching, despite the height of her pedestal.

Opéra Magazine

And the bet paid off: among the spectators we meet on the way out, some still have tears in their eyes. Isabelle has been a Callas expert for years and already knew all the archive footage… “I was moved – and it was a gift from my son, so it's all the more precious. I didn't know this kind of format at all and I loved it. You let yourself go completely – at one point, I almost applauded! We really felt we were in the atmosphere of the theater, it was a magical moment. All I want now is to go home and listen to her recordings again.

Radio France