(Off-topic advice to art thieves.....)
"Take the Monet and run......"
Did you hear about the con-men who tricked the Viennese art-collector Franz Huhl and stole his priceless Monet?
F.Huhl and his Monet were soon parted.
On a more serious, if surreal, note it's surprising what lengths some organisations will go to in their search for novelty when presenting classical music in this way. Two years ago I was approached with the idea to stage THE FLYING DUTCHMAN on two barges in Jurmala harbour, just outside Riga. (On the basis that Riga played a part in Wagner's life during the composition of the piece - back then it was considered to be a part of Eastern Prussia). I sat quietly and listened while the organisers presented this idea. There were going to be two orchestras (one on each barge), and one barge would be Daland's, the other one would be Van Der Decken's. All the scenes involving Erik, the spinning-girls etc would be staged on the Pier (to emphasise their non-seagoing nature). It wasn't clear which orchestra would be playing for them. Neither barge was scheduled to move, although this was open for discussion.
My questions about - how on earth it was going to be lit, who would conduct it and how, how the sound would reach the beach (a good mile away away from the barges), and how the audience would see what was going on at a mile's distance, and more particularly where the money was going to come from for this escapade - were met with silence, followed by a rather angry suggestion that I was trying to tear the project to pieces before it had even begun. The organisers were adamant that no setting on dry land ("for example, on the beach within eyesight and earshot of the audience, with the barges coming ashore dramatically during the overture?") would suit them, and they went off in a huff to try a different producer instead.
As far as I know, the project never reached fruition.
