Electronic Acoustic Enhancement In Opera Houses

March 25, 2009 4:58 PM

How do electronic acoustic enhancement systems work in opera houses?

Do you need to mike every singer, or do you place mikes around the stage? Where are the loudspeakers concealed, usually? Is there any risk for the audience of ever hearing even faint audio feedback?
Thanks!

posted by Opera Chic to technology (7 comments total)

The way it works in other genres is every singer or speaker has a microphone. The mikes thin and hug the skin and are often "hidden" in the hairline.

Check out the pics here:
http://www.brightandloud.com/microphone-placement

If you're not in the first few rows, it's very difficult to see the microphone. But once you do find one on a performer, you'll notice them on everyone.
posted by muzzlecough at 5:11 PM on March 25

The way it works in other genres is every singer or speaker has a microphone.

But not opera.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:17 PM on March 25 [1 favorite]

From here:

Kai Harada's article Opera's Dirty Little Secret states that opera houses have begun using electronic acoustic enhancement systems "...to compensate for flaws in a venue's acoustical architecture." Despite the uproar that has arisen amongst operagoers, Harada points out that none of the major opera houses using acoustic enhancement systems "...use traditional, Broadway-style sound reinforcement, in which most if not all singers are equipped with radio [headset] microphones mixed to a series of unsightly loudspeakers scattered throughout the theatre."

Instead, most opera houses use the sound reinforcement system for subtle boosting of offstage voices, onstage dialogue, and sound effects (e.g., church bells in Toscaor thunder in Wagnerian operas). Acoustic Enhancement systems are most often employed in traditional opera houses to improve the sound of the orchestra, and have little if any effect on the sound of the voices. In a review of the State Opera of South Australia's performance of Wagners' Ring cycle at the Adelaide Festival Center Theatre, Michael Kennedy of The Sunday Telegraph, London, wrote: “The balance between the orchestra and the voices has been ideal.” The live recording of "Wagner: Die Walküre", the world's first 6 channel SACD "blitzed the 2005 Helpmann Awards, winning ten of its eleven nominations and earning critical accolades." - and the recording of "Wagner: Götterdämmerung" was nominated for a 2008 Grammy award. "

And from here:

A subtle type of sound reinforcement called acoustic enhancement is used in some opera houses. Acoustic enhancement systems help give a more even sound in the hall and prevent "dead spots" in the audience seating area by "...augment[ing] a hall's intrinsic acoustic characteristics." The systems use "...an array of microphones connected to a computer [which is] connected to an array of loudspeakers." However, as concertgoers have become aware of the use of these systems, debates have arisen, because "...purists maintain that the natural acoustic sound of [Classical] voices [or] instruments in a given hall should not be altered."

Kai Harada states that opera houses have begun using electronic acoustic enhancement systems "...to compensate for flaws in a venue's acoustical architecture." Despite the uproar that has arisen amongst operagoers, Harada points out that none of the opera houses using acoustic enhancement systems "...use traditional, Broadway-style sound reinforcement, in which most if not all singers are equipped with radio microphones mixed to a series of unsightly loudspeakers scattered throughout the theatre." Instead, most opera houses use the sound reinforcement system for acoustic enhancement, and for subtle boosting of offstage voices, onstage dialogue, and sound effects (e.g., church bells in Tosca or thunder in Wagnerian operas).

One example of the use of this kind of enhancement is the New York State Theater used by the New York City Opera company.
posted by Admira at 5:22 PM on March 25 [2 favorites]

They may use something like a Constellation system.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 7:56 PM on March 25

Two other makers: SIAP (SIAP article on the history of these systems. For some reason, their system is presented as some sort of pinnacle), and LARES.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 8:26 PM on March 25

To sum up:

1) the sound in the auditorium is captured by a bunch of hidden microphones;
2) some whiz-bang digital processing is applied to calculate what should be added;
3) sound is added through a bunch of hidden speakers to simulate reverberation.

Since step 2) happens in what is essentially a computer, you can have various "programs" that you can change on the fly, to make the room sound "bigger" or "smaller" or what have you; this is why the makers are all touting the "flexibility" of their solution (which is real: it's much easier to push a button on a keyboard than to move the back wall of the venue 10 feet).
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 8:40 PM on March 25

Thank you, everybody.
posted by Opera Chic at 3:52 PM on March 26