Matilda

[cedd]

I've just got back from a trip to London for the weekend and have witnessed both ends of the spectrum.

On Friday night I saw Wicked. Row L so pretty decent seats. At the interval I asked Ruth my fiancee what she thought to the show (I'd promised not to comment on anything technical!!!) and she immediately said "it would be nice if I'd heard what they were singing". I had to completely agree with her. The company vocals in particular were barely audible. This was a real shame as a lot of the plot unfolds through their lines. Little asides such as "I've heard her soul is so unclean, pure water would melt her" - quite important for the plot really, were just lost. I knew the words (I have an annoying habit for hearing a show once and being able to recount every word) and found it difficult to make them out. It wasn't all the company vocals though - No Good Deed in particular was just musical noise. Words were very hard to pick out. It wasn't diction from what I could make out either - what I did hear was clean and clear. It was just way too far back in the mix.

I wonder if it's a system issue rather than a mixing issue. The front stalls seem to be covered by an LCR setup. Band in the LR, vocals in the centre. The desk is right at the back of the stalls, so the desk op is hearing the delays which I suspect are a mix of vocals and band. I guess that's also the case for the balcony, which maybe suggests why others have commented that they were right at the back and could hear every word. Perhaps the mix vocal level is fine, but the centre cluster is running too low when you get to the LCR front stalls.

 

Then, however, I saw Miss Saigon last night. Wow! Without doubt the most beautiful piece of sound design I've ever heard. I heard every single word, without the vocals feeling pushed or harsh. The orchestra weren't too quiet either - they had energy and power when needed (my complaint with Les Mis was always that the Orchestra were beautifully mixed but way too quiet!). I was sat in the stalls (row O) right on the outside edge, so I was hearing the main PA plus a little of the under side balcony fills. They were beautifully tickled in to just top up the HF without ruining the perception that the sound was coming from the stage. It was spot on.

 

A comment on Matilda - when I saw it (albeit 3 years ago) we were sat on the back row of the stalls and the sound was perfect. One thing of course is that we were sat right next to the desk, so we were hearing exactly what the desk op heard. With that in mind I wonder if the issues people have reported were similar to what I mentioned above for Wicked.