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Robot to conduct the works of Verdi alongside Andrea Bocelli / The Telegraph

A Swiss humanoid robot is to conduct a Tuscan orchestra in the works of Verdi alongside Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The robot, called YuMi, will be the closest a humanoid has come to mastering the nuances of a human orchestra director when he performs.  "YuMi has a very high level of fluidity of gesture, incredible softness and expressive nuancing," said Andrea Colombini, the director of the Teatro Verdi in Pisa where the concert will be staged. Created by the Swiss company ABB, YuMi will make his orchestral debut on Sept. 12 directing the Lucca Philharmonic. The performance will climax a gala event for the end of the first International Festival of Robotics being held in Pisa, organized by the prestigious Scuola Normale of Pisa university and the ARPA foundation of which Bocelli is the honorary head.

Bocelli will sing as YuMi directs La donna è mobile, (Woman is fickle), a famed scene from the third act of Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, while soloist Maria Luigia Borsis will accompany the robot by singing the classic soprano aria O mio babbino caro (Oh my beloved father) from Gianni Schicchi by Puccini. YuMi also will direct a passage from Mascagni's Intermezzo in the Cavalleria Rusticana.

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