Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 05/02/2008 - 22:18.
To mic or not to mic. I think it's a very delicate question.
I think that the performers would have to be mic'd anyway for the simulcast. Mics that hang overhead and those that can be installed in the floor would not seem adequate to deliver the high quality of sound to theater audiences around the world. The only question in my mind is whether the audience in the hall during the simulcast should benefit (or be afflicted by it, depending on one's opinion). But here is where the complexities and potential dangers begin.
Certainly, the goal should be the best possible experience for the discerning listerner. Going to an opera in an acoustically deficient hall could be compared to going to a ball game and sitting behind the post. The Metropolitan Opera House in New York is acoustically brilliant and so making a case for mic-ing is difficult, save to compensate for deficiencies of the performers. Across Lincoln Center plaza, the home of the New York City Opera is commonly considered acoustically dead without augmented sound. But the mic-ing is done with such delicacy that it doesn't sound artificial, at least to my ear.
Unfortunately, there is a slippery slope involved. Mic-ing opens the door to many inferior talents who not only have weak voices but untrained ones because the control board can "fix" many things. In addition, you can't just mic one person on the stage, you must mic everyone and this can diminish the great voices to the same level as the poor ones. Also, when things are mic'd and you're in the house, it's tough to figure out who's singing in a large cast since all voices come out of the same speakers. This has ruined many Broadway musicals, in my opinion, as "brand name" stars are recruited from television sitcoms to do the work that used to require musical giants.
So if Mr. Gelb were to solicit my opinion on the matter, I would vote Yes on mic-ing individual performers to guarantee the best possible quality for the simulcasts but No on using any technologically augmented sound in the house itself. The Metropolitan Opera is blessed with some of the best acoustics in the world and has the economic muscle and prestige to attract the most powerful singers. Who could ask for anything more?
To mic or not to mic. I
To mic or not to mic. I think it's a very delicate question.
I think that the performers would have to be mic'd anyway for the simulcast. Mics that hang overhead and those that can be installed in the floor would not seem adequate to deliver the high quality of sound to theater audiences around the world. The only question in my mind is whether the audience in the hall during the simulcast should benefit (or be afflicted by it, depending on one's opinion). But here is where the complexities and potential dangers begin.
Certainly, the goal should be the best possible experience for the discerning listerner. Going to an opera in an acoustically deficient hall could be compared to going to a ball game and sitting behind the post. The Metropolitan Opera House in New York is acoustically brilliant and so making a case for mic-ing is difficult, save to compensate for deficiencies of the performers. Across Lincoln Center plaza, the home of the New York City Opera is commonly considered acoustically dead without augmented sound. But the mic-ing is done with such delicacy that it doesn't sound artificial, at least to my ear.
Unfortunately, there is a slippery slope involved. Mic-ing opens the door to many inferior talents who not only have weak voices but untrained ones because the control board can "fix" many things. In addition, you can't just mic one person on the stage, you must mic everyone and this can diminish the great voices to the same level as the poor ones. Also, when things are mic'd and you're in the house, it's tough to figure out who's singing in a large cast since all voices come out of the same speakers. This has ruined many Broadway musicals, in my opinion, as "brand name" stars are recruited from television sitcoms to do the work that used to require musical giants.
So if Mr. Gelb were to solicit my opinion on the matter, I would vote Yes on mic-ing individual performers to guarantee the best possible quality for the simulcasts but No on using any technologically augmented sound in the house itself. The Metropolitan Opera is blessed with some of the best acoustics in the world and has the economic muscle and prestige to attract the most powerful singers. Who could ask for anything more?