There are so many assumptions in such statements, and blatant confusions about technology and changing times, that it's hard to know where to begin.
First, Amira Willighagen has never called herself an opera singer, or said she planned to be one. She simply includes opera arias in her repertoire. Amira is increasingly choosing to be a crossover singer, one who sings in many genres. A few examples of crossover singers that are my age include Sarah Brightman (60) and Andrea Bocelli (62). Among Gen Xers and Millenials they include Jonathan Antoine (25), Josh Groban (40), and Paul Potts (50). Her repertoire shares many songs from theirs and she often refers to their influence on her.
The funny thing about these "experts" on opera singing that bring up microphones is they often are referring to songs Amira sings that were never in operas, but have their sources in movies and broadway shows.
But here I want to address the subject of microphones, for it is where so many discussions wind up. Is it true, as they imply, that opera singers never use microphones? The answer requires a discussion of opera house architecture, acoustics, and the history of the music medium. Opera was invented in Europe in the 1600s at the start of the Enlightenment, and remained a large form of entertainment until the late 1800s, when it gradually began to lose working class audiences to vaudeville and later broadway and the cinema.
Also a demand for phonographs of great recordings grew, as well as movies. One of the first opera singers that made the transition from opera houses of Italy to phonograph recordings was Enrico Caruso. Now to record a record a person needs a microphone. The microphone was invented in about 1875. The first recordings of Caruso were in 1902.
Now let's look at opera houses. They are a particular form of interior architecture that evolved specifically to allow singers to be heard by the whole audience, before the advent of augmenting equipment. The opera house works pretty much just like a microphone, compressing sound, adding reverb, and keeping the audience stacked in tiers to be equally close to the performers.
Today opera is so unpopular that almost no opera house could remain open without public funding. In the days when opera was big, singers trained for years to make their voices loud. This is because they had no microphones as they had not been invented yet. It would be naive to think that the human voice reaches its most beautiful form when it is loudest. Those who don't like opera frequently complain of the 'screeching' sounds they associate with it.
So acoustically, nothing was lost by singers using very sensitive microphones and having sound mixed by talented sound engineers. And such equipment also freed up singers to be able to perform outdoors and to very large audiences that were not possible in the days of opera houses.
The above image is from Maastricht, Netherlands of an arena that holds 13,000 people. Now all opera singers use microphones when in such venues. Below is Luciano Pavarotti's final performance. He is naturally using a microphone as he always did when not singing in an opera house.
In theater today, people still shout to the back of the room without microphones. But it would be an odd belief to think these sounds are more beautiful than the natural speaking of actors in a well-miked Hollywood sound stage.
The only time singing without a microphone makes sense is during an opera in an opera house designed for an old fashioned kind of acoustic. To sing without one outside such a venue would be ridiculous. And in reality, most operas today augment their sound with hidden microphones.
The kind of beautiful singing we have become accustomed to from singers like Amira, Bocelli, Sarah Brightman, and Jonathan Antoine would not be possible without the advent of the microphone.
I end with a soft gentle but powerful example by Amira, from her 3rd album With All My Heart. Notice the shots starting around 1:47 where she is using a microphone in the studio.
No comments:
Post a Comment