Recent

Bad Cat Introduces the Ocelot — Small Amp. Big Attitude. Total Control.

August 27, 2025

2025 MMR Dealers’ Choice Awards Nominations – Ballot Closes 9/5!

August 22, 2025
Paul Reed Smith and Governor Wes Moore: photo credit Stephanie Lemus/PRS Guitars

Paul Reed Smith Day Declared by Maryland Governor Wes Moore

August 22, 2025

Timeless Elegance Meets Modern Performance: Introducing The ADJ Vintage Bar

August 22, 2025

Slingerland Launches Radio King and Studio King Outfits, Plus Spare Parts

August 22, 2025

Seattle Cascades Now a Fully Powered KHS America Drum & Bugle Corps

August 22, 2025
Reid Peterson (Audio-Technica U.S. Executive Director of Sales, Professional Markets); Julie Van Berg (Mavric Incorporated sales associate); Kazuo Matsushita (Audio-Technica Corporation CEO/President); Pete Petty (Mavric Incorporated principal); Manabu Aoki (Audio-Technica U.S. CEO/President); Jeff Beck (Audio-Technica U.S. Regional Sales Manager, System Solutions); and David Barrett, Jerry Silhavy and John Herr (Mavric Incorporated sales associates). Photo credit: Corey Walthall, Clyne Media

Audio-Technica honors Mavric, Inc. with its President’s Award

August 22, 2025

Solid State Logic Appoints Mark Skipper to National Sales Manager, Eastern U.S., for Broadcast & Live Audio Production Systems

August 22, 2025
Thursday, August 28, 2025
  • Contact
MMR Magazine
  • Subscribe Now!
    • Subscribe Now!
  • Advertise
  • Email Press Releases!
  • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
  • Newsroom
    • News
    • MMR Global
    • Supplier Scene
    • Upfront
    • People
  • Awards
    • Dealers’ Choice Awards Ballot 2024
    • Don Johnson Award Winners Archive
  • Directory
  • Get Support!
No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe Now!
    • Subscribe Now!
  • Advertise
  • Email Press Releases!
  • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
  • Newsroom
    • News
    • MMR Global
    • Supplier Scene
    • Upfront
    • People
  • Awards
    • Dealers’ Choice Awards Ballot 2024
    • Don Johnson Award Winners Archive
  • Directory
  • Get Support!
No Result
View All Result
MMR Magazine
No Result
View All Result

The Santa Fe Opera Re-Imagines ‘Orfeo’ Opera Production with Lectrosonics Wireless

Christian Wissmuller by Christian Wissmuller
August 22, 2023
in Supplier Scene
0
938
SHARES
2.3k
VIEWS
Share on Facebook
ADVERTISEMENT

Throw away your stereotypical stuffy ideas about opera. The Santa Fe Opera is no ordinary opera company, and the company’s home, the open-air Crosby Theatre, is no ordinary opera house. The opera’s new production of Orfeo, directed by Yuval Sharon with music by Claudio Monteverdi and a world premiere orchestration by Nico Muhly, is an innovative reimagining of one of the oldest known operatic works. The artistic choices around this production, which include using effects-processing on individual voices as well as mixing them spatially into the specially built multichannel surround system, required that the key characters wear wireless mic systems. For this, the opera uses Lectrosonics SSM belt pack transmitters and channels of Venue2 receivers.
Although opera traditionally is done 100% acoustically, the innovative artistic directions that Sharon took for Orfeo required very close miking of the non-chorus performers so that their voices could be cleanly processed. Area mics would not sufficiently isolate the individual voices from each other and from ambient sound. Therefore, sound designer Mark Grey opted to use Lectrosonics wireless. Grey had used these wireless systems in recent years with the Santa Fe Opera in staging Doctor Atomic by John Adams, and The Lord of Cries, by John Corigliano, both modern American works. For Orfeo, the choice was obvious.

Grey explains, “In Act II when the characters go down into Hades, Yuval wanted the sound world to radically change. I got into the Crosby Theater and started experimenting with the processing, like reverberation coming from the surround sound, and key roles sung or spoken from offstage.” Grey supplemented the theater’s four main PA loudspeakers with ten more to create the surround system that would give spatial effects to the otherworldly reverberant vocal fields. Grey allotted the fourteen Lectrosonics channels this way: “Thirteen channels are on characters who are onstage and sometimes offstage. The fourteenth is dedicated to a character who is only offstage. We also have wired microphones offstage. We’re using DPA 4061 mics on the SSM belt packs.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The opera’s Audio Engineer, Abbey Nettleton, offers a unique reason to appreciate the Lectrosonics wireless systems: “There’s a lot of wind. The theater is pretty well protected because it has wind baffles on one side, but when the [back of stage] doors are open, we’re battling the sounds of outside.”

The Lectrosonics reputation for reliability and durability were vital in this show. Audio/ Visual Director Cooper Adams says “The Lectrosonics products are like little tanks. I’ve always been extremely impressed with the quality of the products.” He adds, “Lectrosonics also offers silicone jackets for the transmitters, which are important because in this production at one point the characters are in a mist, essentially enveloped in rain onstage.”

Adams also favors the SSM transmitters for their very small size, because “SSMs could be tucked anywhere, and they work great with a variety of microphones.” Although they’re primarily for effects, he explained, “we’re also rigging some performers in acrobatic harnesses, and we wanted to give them support.”

Adams says he still greatly appreciates the Lectrosonics technology behind Wireless Designer software. “Fortunately, we don’t have a lot of RF issues out here, but the Wireless Designer software is great for scanning for potential problems.”

Mark Grey sees growth in the opera world for wireless mic technology like Santa Fe Opera’s Lectrosonics systems. “Traditional opera houses, we think of La Scala — but more and more outdoor operas are happening. In Austria, they have the Bregenz Festival, which is opera on a lake. They build sets that are some 15 stories high and they’re all outdoors. The seating capacity is around 12,000. They have a very advanced sound department. That’s where this technology is becoming very important. It’s all about the audience’s experience.”

Tags: Lectrosonics
Previous Post

Spector Expands Its Popular NS Ethos & NS Dimension Lines with the HP Series

Next Post

Fender Unveils New Additions to the California Series Acoustic Guitars

Related Posts

Supplier Scene

Seattle Cascades Now a Fully Powered KHS America Drum & Bugle Corps

August 22, 2025
Reid Peterson (Audio-Technica U.S. Executive Director of Sales, Professional Markets); Julie Van Berg (Mavric Incorporated sales associate); Kazuo Matsushita (Audio-Technica Corporation CEO/President); Pete Petty (Mavric Incorporated principal); Manabu Aoki (Audio-Technica U.S. CEO/President); Jeff Beck (Audio-Technica U.S. Regional Sales Manager, System Solutions); and David Barrett, Jerry Silhavy and John Herr (Mavric Incorporated sales associates). Photo credit: Corey Walthall, Clyne Media
Supplier Scene

Audio-Technica honors Mavric, Inc. with its President’s Award

August 22, 2025
Supplier Scene

Boston Crusaders Win 1st-Ever DCI Gold Medal Playing Pearl/Adams

August 22, 2025
Supplier Scene

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Chad Smith Launches Foundation to Champion Music Education, Access and Opportunity for Aspiring Artists

August 22, 2025
Supplier Scene

SONOR Drums Welcomes New Artist Federico Caballero (FDFX)

August 19, 2025
Supplier Scene

Blood, Sweat, and Gear – 25 Years of Mojotone

August 18, 2025
Next Post

Fender Unveils New Additions to the California Series Acoustic Guitars

Please login to join discussion
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

Jessica Tropea Joins Neutrik Americas as Customer Solutions Engineer

August 15, 2025

Music Sales swoops for Carisch

April 8, 2015

Furch Guitars Introduces Pioneer Series: All-Solid-Wood, Travel-Friendly Short-Scale Guitars

July 21, 2025

NAMM’s Top 100 Dealer Awards Rebranded as The NAMM Retail Awards

July 21, 2025

Bad Cat Introduces the Ocelot — Small Amp. Big Attitude. Total Control.

Paul Reed Smith and Governor Wes Moore: photo credit Stephanie Lemus/PRS Guitars

Paul Reed Smith Day Declared by Maryland Governor Wes Moore

Timeless Elegance Meets Modern Performance: Introducing The ADJ Vintage Bar

Slingerland Launches Radio King and Studio King Outfits, Plus Spare Parts

Bad Cat Introduces the Ocelot — Small Amp. Big Attitude. Total Control.

August 27, 2025

2025 MMR Dealers’ Choice Awards Nominations – Ballot Closes 9/5!

August 22, 2025
Paul Reed Smith and Governor Wes Moore: photo credit Stephanie Lemus/PRS Guitars

Paul Reed Smith Day Declared by Maryland Governor Wes Moore

August 22, 2025

Timeless Elegance Meets Modern Performance: Introducing The ADJ Vintage Bar

August 22, 2025
ADVERTISEMENT
The Latest News and Gear in Your Inbox - Sign Up Today!
  • August 2025

    Articles | Digital Issue
  • July 2025

    Articles | Digital Issue
  • June 2025

    Articles | Digital Issue
  • May 2025

    Articles | Digital Issue
  • April 2025

    Articles | Digital Issue
© 2005 - 2025 artistpro, LLC
7012 City Center Way, Suite 207
Fairview, Tennessee 37062
(800) 682-8114

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe Now!
    • Subscribe Now!
  • Advertise
  • Email Press Releases!
  • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
  • Newsroom
    • News
    • MMR Global
    • Supplier Scene
    • Upfront
    • People
  • Awards
    • Dealers’ Choice Awards Ballot 2024
    • Don Johnson Award Winners Archive
  • Directory
  • Get Support!

© 2005 – 2024 artistpro, LLC 7012 City Center Way, Suite 207 Fairview, Tennessee 37062 (800) 682-8114

This is Modal Title

Click Me
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?