'From Rock to Opera'

[Bobbsy]

I've "done" a reasonable number classical concerts and, frankly, most often the job involves opening and closing an announcer mic a couple of times and maybe some walk in music. A typical symphony orchestra is loud enough to fill even a large venue and the conductor is there to control the dynamics and the mix.

 

The exceptions to this have been a couple of times when we've had a rock band backed by a large orchestra--those were fun. Even then, though, it was mainly mixing the rockers and having a few of the orchestral instruments miked if they're going to have solos along with the electronic stuff.

 

If you want to work on orchestral gigs the ability to read score and understand the sections and layout(s) of an orchestra are all very desirable skills.

 

Let me second this. An ability to follow a score and count down in bars is essential even if you're not a musician yourself. I don't have anything like the music A level mentioned but the little bit of music theory I had in junior high along with a lot of following a score along with a recording has got me ALMOST able to do this, though not without a lot of nerves.

[paulears]

There is a big difference between being able to read a score and follow one. Music based DSMs often have to learn to do this - and following a score isn't that difficult. Some are hideous! Rite of Spring comes to mind. No way in the world can A Level music prepare you to read it, because the full score is like looking at an ant's nest - but if you defocus your eyes, you can see a kind of flow, and you can follow this - looking for the progress of some of the bars as kinds of sweeps up or down. The TV people have exactly the same issue, where they need to cut to the flautist on exactly bar 323, for two notes. Missing it is not an option. The audio thing is very different - because orchestras handle their own balance - so live amplified orchestral work only happens in HUGE events where you need artificial assistance

[J Pearce]

Or outdoors, where even small civic events often mic up wind bands and orchestras, though no-one has yet been foolish enough to mic up the brass band I play in.

[Cerbertech]

I once agreed to operate lights for an opera and when asked could I follow a score said yes based on many school years playing various instruments including clarinet.

Was then presented with a full score demanding thunder flashes etc on precise notes. Turns out even if you can read music an orchestra at full pelt is very different and difficult to follow.

Ended up with one of my musician friends in the pit with cans following the score and cuing where we were.

[paulears]

(almost entirely off topic)

I did a huge disastrous arts event years ago, and it was so bad Radio 3 decided not to broadcast it. The orchestra we amplified, and there was a huge PA system offshore - plus actors hundreds of metres away from the orchestra. The composer couldn't read music, so somebody had to convert his material into dots the various people could read to play. Nobody had realised that the PA would be many seconds behind the orchestra, and the actors seconds behind them - it was terrible it became funny. The actors would speak a line, then hear it again maybe three or four seconds later, so they'd answer their own questions, and sing what everyone thought were completely wrong phrases. The stage management cued helicopters were pretty good visually, but nobody thought about how they could drown out the people speaking. As they couldn't make the rehearsals, nobody was quite sure what the army were doing when they raced out across the beach firing blanks into the sea. Cost thousands and thousands. As one security guard said to me - I've never been paid to keep people in before!

[cedd]

though no-one has yet been foolish enough to mic up the brass band I play in.

As the son of two brass teachers, and the brother of a very good professional trombonist, I can only +1 this comment! As my brother's old teacher used to say to him whilst attempting to quieten him down "paint the wall (with sound) - don't punch a ruddy hole through it!" (Anybody who's seen the film Brassed Off - apply the voice of Danny the conductor to truly get the feel of that quote. I swear I grew up IN that film!).

 

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t335/ceddison/Web%20images/trombone_zps9680afaa.gif

 

Whilst my experience of orchestra's isn't on the scale of some people above (20 piece pit orhestras at most) I still believe that the approach to working with an orchestra should be the same, work closely with your musical director, make sure they understand that you're there as much in an artistic capacity as a technical one, and get yourself to a stage where you can talk their language. It's amazing how only a few simple terms can make all the difference.

I'll echo the comment about it being very difficult to follow the score in a fast moving piece of music. I can follow music (would never claim to be able to read it - black sheep of the family!) and it's only through sitting down with my mum and dad (both having MD'd and conducted brass bands and orchestras) that I've learnt a few of the tricks.

 

And above all else, never ever encourage the brass section!

[GridGirl]

I once agreed to operate lights for an opera and when asked could I follow a score said yes based on many school years playing various instruments including clarinet.

Was then presented with a full score demanding thunder flashes etc on precise notes. Turns out even if you can read music an orchestra at full pelt is very different and difficult to follow.

Ended up with one of my musician friends in the pit with cans following the score and cuing where we were.

 

I would have asked for a piano score - so much easier! Our DSMs call off a piano-vocal score and leave the full score to the conductor, otherwise you're turning pages every six bars...but if I do ever have to follow a full score I find myself following one part and listening out for that instrument. If they have extended rests, switch to another line.

 

And above all else, never ever encourage the brass section!

 

And don't even look at the brass, it only encourages them!

 

During opera season we mic for foldback alone - with our pit being as godawful as it is, the singers can't hear the orchestra without some foldback. Occasionally when the ballet comes to town they enhance FOH - but it's never much and it's always very subtle. Usually it's if there's something like a big harp solo which isn't getting out of the pit well enough. We close mic'ed when we did a massive, massive opera which had the orchestra in another room elsewhere in the building, and of course for the behemoth Opera on Sydney Harbour - but that was no gig for the faint hearted!

 

Having said all that, we have a full set of mics in the pit right now as we've just started a season of South Pacific so we're in music theatre mode - but the pit is almost completely enclosed by a staging section which rolls out over it, trapping so much sound, and with it being a smaller band (35 players opposed to our usual 60) they're boosting it a bit as well as balancing them against the mic'ed singers. What amuses me is that they've put a mic on our Emile who is a bona fide opera singer (and an extraordinarily good one!) and he can and does fill the hall un-mic'ed with the greatest of ease...I think he's toned it down somewhat for this gig...

[paulears]

Moderation: I've moved the composer discussion to another topic so as not to derail this one.

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