{"id":30,"date":"2022-04-17T15:59:26","date_gmt":"2022-04-17T19:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/mus122-sp22-16\/?page_id=30"},"modified":"2022-04-24T14:45:09","modified_gmt":"2022-04-24T18:45:09","slug":"technology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/mus122-sp22-16\/technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amplification and Recording Technology<\/b><\/p>\n

To create the soundscape for The Phantom of the Opera<\/em>, sound designers utilized both radio microphones and line array speakers to heighten the quality and volume of the sound for the production. Phantom<\/em> is vocally demanding for many of its performers; the character Christine Daa\u00e9, for example, as the lead soprano of the show, is required to clearly hit notes in a high register in numerous songs, including \u201cThink of Me,\u201d \u201cThe Phantom of the Opera,\u201d and \u201cAll I Ask of You.\u201d Accounting for this demand, sound designers used miniature radio microphones, which were able to \u201cscrub\u201d vocal inputs \u201cof all surface noise, producing what is often called a \u2018pure\u2019 sound\u2026 or simply a \u2018studio sound\u2019\u201d (Burston 1998, 207-208). These microphones are taped directly to the performers, capturing and projecting their voices across the space, which ultimately lessens the burden to produce volume on the performer\u2019s own vocal capacity (Burston 1998, 207).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Hugh Panaro as the Phantom with a visible body microphone (GettyImages c2004)<\/span> (Photo by Bruce Glikas\/FilmMagic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sound designers for Phantom<\/em> also employed line-array speakers to supplement the effects of the body microphones and ensure that the production was properly amplified. These speakers were intended to provide optimal amplification in the most efficient way possible. As articulated by Timothy Tracey, this technology \u201callows several speaker elements to combine to operate as a single speaker from a single point source in the theater\u201d (Tracey 2015, 76). This feature is critical for large musicals like Phantom<\/em>; the interconnected stereo system of the line array speakers gives sound designers the ability to place speakers in such a way that allows those in the back of the audience to hear the clear outputs from the microphones, while also avoiding the projection of sound to unwanted parts of the theater (Tracey 2015, 76).<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to create the distinct, booming sound experienced by Phantom<\/em> viewers, sound designers also focused on the theater\u2019s architecture, wanting to use the line array speakers and the body microphones in tandem with the effects of natural reverberation (Olson 2013). This effect comes from the sound from the stage moving throughout the space, bouncing from the ceiling to the walls and other structures in the theater, allowing for the listener to hear the performance all around them, much like an echo (Olson 2013). Since its original New York City opening on January 26th, 1988, Phantom<\/em> has been performed on Broadway in the Majestic Theater, which was constructed in 1927 (Shubert Organization 2015). To heighten the impact of this effect on the audience, as mentioned earlier, Phantom<\/em>\u2019s sound designers installed the speakers in the Majestic Theater strategically, so that the sound would almost surround the audience members, mimicking a natural echo throughout the theater while still maintaining the proper studio quality and necessary volume (Olson 2013). This design aspect is particularly vital to the character of the Phantom; the characters in the musical perceive the Phantom as a ghostly and almost supernatural character, and the resonant sounds and mysterious echo from the speaker arrangement and reverberation allow for the audience to have this same, sonic experience of the Phantom and his voice. This experience is exemplified in the performance of \u201cThe Mirror (Angel of Music).\u201d During this song, Christine meets and hears the Phantom for the first time. The Phantom\u2019s voice bellows and echoes throughout the entire theater before he ever is physically present on stage; the speaker arrangement makes it difficult for the audience to discern where exactly in the theater the Phantom is, allowing them to feel just as jarred by his disembodied voice as Christine does (0:08-0:28). Because of the show\u2019s technology, the Phantom\u2019s shouts and whispers are cleanly projected throughout the space, adding to his mysterious character.<\/span><\/p>\n