In a message dated 3/19/2001 7:42:16 PM Eastern Standard Time, lloyd.hanson@n... writes: lloyd.hanson@n... writes:
<< Perhaps the days of acoustic singing with a symphonic orchestra are numbered and we are all witnesses to the end of a rather long yet limited method of making music. >>
the fact that it is still alive is probably due to the the larger exposure through recordings and television, both requiring the use of microphones. however, these mediums have probably contributed more to the deterioration of the audience's expectations than they have to the singing.
the size of opera houses has had a detrimental effect on singing in that it has put far more emphasis on efforts needed to be heard than in the past with smaller houses. i would assume that composers of the past (verdi, mozart, massenet, etc) had some sense, either conscious or otherwise, that the size of the likely venue would have some effect on the quality of the performance. wagner, as i remember, designed his own theater, taking particular care of the acoustics. opera houses these days, i feel, are designed with more than just a consideration for the economic problems facing the production of opera. more likely to bring about the end of opera as we have known it, is the expense.
mike
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