Recording Amahl And the Night Visitors - Opera

[Treeline]

I'll be doing some sound for a small opera production of Gian-Carlo Menotti's opera Amahl and the Night Visitors in a few weeks. We have some subtle sound reinforcement to assist in dialogue, and the lead is a 14 year old (my daughter's debut!) who will be wearing a wireless lavalier body mic. Other supporting parts will be sung by professionally trained opera vocalists.

The live sound will be present but as minimal as I can possibly make it and still achieve good articulation in some of the quiet passages. The audience size could range from one to four hundred people, so the echo they're encountering during rehearsal will pretty much disappear.

There will be a small orchestra with piano and a child / young adult choir (including a few ringers from the music school chorus). The productions are to be in three different churches on three consecutive nights, so the setup will have to be basic and flexible.

We have a really delicate political / appearances / kids anxiety issue with using too much in the way of visible mics, so I'm trying as much stealth technique as I can. Does this make sense to you guys?

1. (2) boundary mics placed right and left of center stage; either on the wall or on a piece of plywood 2' square, upright. Alternatively, the boundary mics could be placed on the floor (worried about foot noise) or upright at the base of the front row of church pews. Perhaps Crown Sound Grabbers running into a preamp and then to a snake to the board.

2. (1) wireless body mic; considering getting a Shure Presenter diversity UHF setup.

3. (1) large omni at head height in the center of the orchestra near the piano, stage right.

4. (potentially) one cardioid LDC at the tail of the piano (7' Steinway, lid open).

I'm not going to get away with any more mics than that.

Has anyone had workable results with a setup like this? Would you suggest a different PZM set (I have no budget...of course)?

Thanks!

 

[mshilarious]

1. (2) boundary mics placed right and left of center stage; either on the wall or on a piece of plywood 2' square, upright. Alternatively, the boundary mics could be placed on the floor (worried about foot noise) or upright at the base of the front row of church pews. Perhaps Crown Sound Grabbers running into a preamp and then to a snake to the board.

2. (1) wireless body mic; considering getting a Shure Presenter diversity UHF setup.

3. (1) large omni at head height in the center of the orchestra near the piano, stage right.

4. (potentially) one cardioid LDC at the tail of the piano (7' Steinway, lid open).

I'm not going to get away with any more mics than that.

Has anyone had workable results with a setup like this? Would you suggest a different PZM set (I have no budget...of course)?

Thanks!

1. That's a common technique, I tried it on the floor but didn't like it. In a bad space, they are feedback machines. Probably worth a shot in a good space. As for foot noise, are the performers wearing shoes? Really they should wear dance slippers. I once tried to get a school play to not wear heavy boots, to no avail. They were doing Shakespeare; I'm pretty sure they didn't wear Timberlands in the Globe.

What's worked, but only OK, for me is SDCs. I'm seen pro sound guys use shotguns, but I don't understand that theory--I have enough trouble getting anything onstage that's slightly off-axis.

2. I have one of those are they are nice.

3. OK I'm confused. Is this for just for recording or live sound? I don't think an orchestra needs help for a couple hundred people.

4. Ditto for the piano. However for live sound, I prefer a dynamic with piano, again due to feedback issues. Plus you can cram a dynamic right into or even underneath a grand, more towards the treble side, and it sounds pretty good.

 

[Treeline]

It's likely that the only live sound would involve the lavalier, as she has some quiet parts and it's a way to avoid pushing her voice. I agree that none of the others (except perhaps the children's chorus if they choke) will need a thing. The tenor would overload a mic anyway; he could blast the front door off. Most of the mics would be used to track signal without overdoing the ambient stuff. I'd end up with 6 tracks.