Audio
This opera was one of our technical opportunities. While there where amplified dialogues and a multitrack recording, there also was a live transmission to an UGC theater in Brussels.
For the Live transmission, we decided to work with a premix of the voices so that 1 engineer could focus on the dialogues and all wireless microphones of the singers and another engineer mixed the orchestra and a stereo mix from the first one.
Eight singers had a wireless DPA microphone and on the proscenium we installed 4 Schoeps MK4 and 2 Neumann KM 150 to capture the natural sound of the singers and the choir. On stage there was another Schoeps MSTC to record an offstage choir.
The orchestra setup was kind of peculiar for the orchestra Pit. The brass were at the left side (Jardin) of the orchestra and the woodwinds in the back. The double Bass were between the brass and the woodwinds.
There was a DPA 4006 on each string section and a Neumann U87 on the Double bass.
Horns and Trombones were recorded with a Sennheiser MKH40 and timpani also with a DPA 4006.
All woodwinds were recorded with Schoeps MK2. Our standard setup of crockwood and Optocore preamps were used for this recording. In this situation it was very handy to have a really versatile optical network to organize the distribution between the 2 mixing consoles, the live console, the monitor console and the multitrack recorder.
