>From: Margaret Harrison <peggyh@i...> >From: Margaret Harrison <peggyh@i...> >Tako Oda wrote: > > > Don't get me wrong, I don't think A) Brightman is an extraordinary >singer > > or B) phantom is the greatest opera written in recent times. I am >curious, > > however, to know why you think the "electronic amplification" > > automatically makes Phantom inferior to a "live" opera. > Though my personal >preference is for singing without electronic amplification. I don't mind it >in popular >music, where the singing style is based on it, e.g., the jazz singer >cozying up to the >microphone in the dark nightspot, the rock'n'roll band where the entire >sound IS >electronics. But I usually hate it in Broadway-style shows, because it's >too loud and >hurts my ears and amplifies whatever bad singing is present. >
I dislike amplification in stage shows, not because I consider traditional opera production the be-all and end-all, but because SO MUCH OF IT IS DREADFUL! When I reviewed theater in Philadelphia, I sat through too many shows that were a) amplified up to headache level or b) tinny or c) squeaked and squawked at odd moments or d) all of the above. For a fuller explanation, check out the S.O.B. Manifesto, posted on my web site at http://home.earthlink.net/~mightymezzo.
For an example of a WELL-amplified show, Bay Area Vocalisters should check out Saratoga Drama Group's current production of "Sweet Charity." If all sound guys were as conscientious as Jon Wenger, I wouldn't have had to post the S.O.B. Manifesto.
Elizabeth Finkler http://home.earthlink.net/~mightymezzo/ mightymezzo@h...
"Virtue is triumphant only in theatrical productions." --The Mikado
"Quitters never win. Winners never quit. But those who never win and never quit are just plain stupid." --anonymousse
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