THE JK EFFECT
In 2013 Anthony Tommasini wrote a piece for the New York Times titled "Wearing a Wire at the Opera, Secretly, Of Course." In that article a number of important admissions were made regarding the use of microphone technology at the Met.
In this article we are going to begin with an excerpt from Tommasini's piece which centres around statements made by former Met sound engineer Jay David Saks. Mr Saks was responsible for the HD and radio broadcasts during his time at the Met and below is the excerpt containing his testimony.
(Start Excerpt)
The challenge of the job, Mr. Saks said in a recent interview, is to make a live broadcast sound natural. Of course, this involves a considerable manipulation of sound.
"I try to create the impression one would have, in an aesthetic and emotional and reactive way, if one was sitting in the house in a really good seat," he said. Yet, he explained, if he were to place a microphone in a choice seat, say, in the centre of the 10th row, the result "would sound dreadful."
Each set has its own acoustic qualities, he said. The one for La Traviata is among what Mr. Saks calls "those megaphone sets” that focus and direct the voices out into the house. Yet such sets can be nightmares, he said, for broadcasts.
(End Excerpt)
From the various statements I have read I get a really good feeling about Saks. He seems like a down to earth person and given that he held this position at the Met must have been amongst the best in his field. In these statements Saks is very candid about the degree of manipulation that goes into these broadcasts. He also does not hide the fact that the most desirable live sound from an acoustic perspective is the worst thing for today's microphone technology.
He states:
"The one for La Traviata is amongst "those megaphone sets" that focus and direct the voices out into the house. Yet such sets can be nightmares, he said, for broadcasts".
When Saks is describing "megaphones" he is limiting his commentary to sets. But the concept is not only applicable to sets and also directly relates to voices. This is because the sound recording technology used today cannot achieve optimal results with a voce squillante (the vocal equivalent of a megaphone set) instead, favouring voices which are less brilliant and more soft grain in nature.
Opera administrations would have us believe that this technology is a passive ancillary to operatic performance which simply augments the art form in its natural state. In reality nothing could be further from the truth because we have long since passed the point when the technology began to directly influence the nature of the art itself. This influence has degraded the historic tonal ideals of singing by favouring voices which are enhancement friendly over those which are acoustically viable. Sadly this has resulted in us collectively subscribing to a tonal ideal much less brilliant than it was in the past.
THERE WERE NO DULL VOICES IN THE GOLDEN AGE
When reviewing the statements of great past singers, it's not difficult to understand the importance they placed upon brilliance of the voice. A good example of this can be found in the statements of Franco Corelli during his commentary on the vocalism of Lauri-Volpi.
He states:
"Lauri-Volpi is a pure and outstanding example of vocality. I must say, still better, of theatrical vocality”.
"He defined himself as a lyrical tenor, but a theatrical one. Because he said his voice must only be listened to in the theatre. Lauri-Volpi had an extensive voice like few others and brilliant so much that it was unique: I believe that no other voice was as shining as Lauri-Volpi's one."
"I believe that Lauri-Volpi has been the only singer capable of making the vibrations of his voice felt in the loggione. I'm talking about the vibrations of the voice, not about the voice."
When Corelli uses the terms theatrical tenor, shining and brilliant, he is actually describing a physical phenomenon where the intensity of the upper partials in the sound is so great that they are palpable to the audience. It is clear that Corelli was enamoured with Lauri-Volpi's ability to do this and was surely the reason why he sought out the great tenor as his mentor.
Through Corelli, we see an example of a great artist who recognised the superiority in the tonal ideals of an era which had preceded him. This realisation moved him away from his Melocchian roots and towards the best traditions of the bel canto. In doing so Corelli achieved a change in phonation which not only led to an increase in range but also a sweeter sound which possessed more brilliance than many of his contemporaries. The change in phonation which I reference is well known by opera aficionados who are familiar with the recorded examples of his early vocalism.
Where Mario Del Monaco had chosen to exemplify the ideals of the verismo, Corelli had attempted to hybridise them with the tonal qualities of the past. This led to advantages in the acuti and dynamics, and also increased the brilliance of his sound, and it's this later consideration, particularly when combined with his above statements, that offers us insights into why he made that decision.
The fact is that the verismo singing which typified the vocalism of the 1950s achieved its incredible impetuosity and power at the cost of brilliance. The reason for this lies in the fact that these powerful technical approaches like the Melocchian School focussed on a different set of harmonics and formant tuning in order to achieve their objectives, amongst them a lower 2nd formant. This alternate formant tuning which had become en vogue by the 1950s made the voices of the era comparatively less brilliant than those which had preceded them. When listening to the recordings from the 1930s these differences are easily identifiable, where it was obvious that an alternate tonal ideal was being employed.
Today, over half a century later, ideals continue to change and to the same degree that the environment becomes technologically enhanced, society embraces voices which are increasingly more dull. These non-theatrical voices which could never have been successful in the past are now referred to by the ignorant masses as "voices for the ages," while voices of superior projective capabilities are often cast as their understudy.
When comparing the tonal ideals of different eras some important acknowledgements need to be made. One such acknowledgement relates to the 1950s ideal which although comparatively less brilliant was extremely projective. Despite focussing on a different set of harmonics this ideal is based upon a powerful theatrical projection. Therefore it should be understood that while they were different, the 1950s and 1930s ideals were both suited to acoustic singing. This consideration is of extreme importance because it distinguishes them from the tonal ideal employed today which better caters to an amplified environment.
POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND THE RISE OF IGNORANCE
Political correctness attempts to make everything a matter of subjective taste, this has given the right of passage to anyone who likes to think of themselves as an expert. These people regularly embarrass themselves by describing dull singing as “dark velvet”. Such people live by the mantra that their ignorance is as good as another's knowledge, and in any discussion surrounding tonal ideals this unfortunate behaviour will surely be found. Unfortunately for the ignorant, the laws of acoustics are real and with regard to this discussion, provide us with an objective truth, which is:
"That while more brilliant voices do not record as favourably, they do sound more exciting in the house."
However, in an enhanced environment this objective truth does not apply and today dull voices which are not projective often enjoy bigger careers than those that are. These claims are very easily substantiated when observing the same singers in a number of different settings where technology is being used. In reality this is something which the average member of the public will never have the opportunity to do. My personal epiphany in regards to this issue occurred when I was at the Metropolitan Opera. While there I was able to experience the various stages of rehearsals, a run of performances plus the HD and radio broadcast of the same production. What this experience taught me was that certain voices respond very well to technology while others don't. Perhaps the clearest example of this came from watching one act of an opera from the auditorium of the Met and then watching the following act on the live HD broadcast from List Hall which is in the same building. Having become very familiar with the voices and then hearing them in these two different settings in close succession was quite revealing. What this experience taught me was that voices which lack core in the house come through beautifully on the HD broadcast, while the same technology makes theatrical voices sound worse than they do in real life. In fact, it's fair to say that these "megaphone voices" often sound very unpleasant in the broadcasts which unjustly disadvantages them within the career.
SQUILLO AND MICS DON'T MIX
The simple explanation for why this occurs is because recording technology does not do well with strong concentrations of upper partials, preferring darker voices which have less squillo. Lauri-Volpi understood this which is why he stated that his voice must only be listened to in the theatre. Technology has always had an affinity for darker voices and probably always will. A very early example of this can be found in the recorded legacies of Paoli and Tamagno who were the real dramatic tenors of their day. These singers both recorded very poorly compared to Caruso who had a much darker voice. Another consideration is that the dark qualities in Caruso's sound allowed his recordings to present the illusion of being more dramatic than his two peers despite possessing a voice far more lyrical in nature. This illusionary effect is even more prevalent today due to the advent of sound enhancement systems which are now a feature in many opera houses around the world. These systems favour darker voices, particularly those which are loud but not projective and it is this technology which has allowed so many non-theatrical voices to become superstars today.
These events have had many negative ramifications on our art form, amongst them the "faux baritone" phenomenon which is often present in the current generation of student tenors. This lamentable trend is quite understandable considering it is natural for young singers to imitate the examples which they hear, and today, dull and harmonically bottom heavy voices have become the norm, clearly illustrating that the tonal ideals being subscribed to have become markedly corrupted.
A MESSAGE TO YOUNG SINGERS
You have been born in an unfortunate time. The art form which you love has crossed over from its acoustic period into a technological one. This event has already taken place and we cannot realistically expect things to ever return to the way they were. In light of this reality you are presented with some important decisions. Perhaps the most important one you will ever make is deciding if you are going to become a real theatrical opera singer or just a "poperatic" caricature of one. Both will sing exactly the same music and in today's enhanced environment both can have a career. The only difference is that one will develop theatrical projection while the other will merely imitate an operatic style.
Lauri-Volpi chose to epitomise a theatrical singer. Corelli followed his example. When recounting what Lauri-Volpi had taught him Corelli said this:
"He has taught me to love the theatre much more than is common now. Maybe because he came from the good school, maybe because he lived in the golden age of the lyrical art. He has fought. He did it bravely and he has taught me never to give up the fight."
When listening to the recordings of a young Corelli one hears a man who had inherited the world. Corelli had a superior voice than any tenor today, he was handsome and had more sex appeal. Standing at 6'2 he cut a stupendous image on the stage. He possessed a real spinto voice which was dark, expressive and had tremendous squillo and within his fach his pianissimo has never been rivalled.
There is nobody alive today who could hold a candle to Franco and I do not believe there will be anyone like him ever again. He could easily have cashed in and gone the commercial route. If he had wanted to he could have gone to Hollywood, but instead he decided to become a real theatrical opera singer. Like Lauri-Volpi who stated that his voice must only be listened to in the theatre, Franco modelled his voice with the singular objective of becoming the best acoustic singer he could be.
And it was brilliant.
CONCLUSION
The Loggione requests that readers watch this short video as a conclusion to this article.
This article is dedicated to the singers who have never given up the fight.
ADDENDA
1) This article states that the dark qualities in Caruso's voice made his voice record both beautifully and dramatically. These statements should not be misinterpreted to mean that Caruso's voice was not projective acoustically. Caruso's voice was perfectly balanced making it both extremely projective and dark.
2) The Loggione would
like to acknowledge that the title of this article was inspired by the content
of Franco Tenelli who refers to this same phenomenon as "The Kaufmann Effect". Mr
Tenelli's YouTube channel contains a vast number of educational videos, many of
which deal with the subject of amplification within opera. Readers who would
like to view Mr Tenelli's content can do so via this hyperlink.
Copyright Brett Goulding 2021
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