One of the perks of teaching in a metropolitan area, is that every once in a while, really cheap theater tickets come my way. Last Saturday, Dutch and I had the pleasure of watching the Elixir of Love for Families, a kid-friendly production from the SF opera folks. We joined thousands of families to watch. I was especially excited, as I had never been to an opera before. The War Memorial Opera Theater was huge and everything was gilded or marble or brass-tacked leather.
I was expecting a wall of sound when the action started, and I was slightly surprised by the fullness of the orchestra, and the thinness of the voices (granted, we were a long way off from the stage, maybe the more money you spend, the better the acoustic experience). The singers were not miked, in some ways it was nice to have unmediated sound (straight from their larynx to my ear) but I was expecting to be knocked over. The oboe-bassoon section made up for the singing. There was one oboe-solo near the end of the first scene-- one perfect note floating above the strings, lovely.
I was expecting a wall of sound when the action started, and I was slightly surprised by the fullness of the orchestra, and the thinness of the voices (granted, we were a long way off from the stage, maybe the more money you spend, the better the acoustic experience). The singers were not miked, in some ways it was nice to have unmediated sound (straight from their larynx to my ear) but I was expecting to be knocked over. The oboe-bassoon section made up for the singing. There was one oboe-solo near the end of the first scene-- one perfect note floating above the strings, lovely.
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1 comment:
I love attending such shows - under the radar is an organic, exciting place.
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