The AOTC relied on the d:dicate 4006C Omnidirectional, 4011A Cardioid and 4015C Wide Cardioid Microphones, as well as the d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphone 10-piece Classic Touring Kit for their pristine recording capabilities. Supplied by DPA, Inc. - the company's U.S. branch, these mics were used primarily to record and broadcast AOTC's Saturday morning opera master classes as well as its fully-staged productions of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Bizet's Carmen.
"We were looking for a clean and accurate sound," explains Scott Burgess, head audio engineer for the Aspen Music Festival and School. "The DPA mics are spotless and precise, and could handle the dynamic range of an operatic performance."
Since the AOTC is a training programme for professional singers, the music was not amplified for the live audience. However, Burgess still needed to ensure that the broadcast audiences, recording listeners and guests in the green rooms all had the same audio experience as the live attendees. He selected the d:dicate 4006s to pick up the vocals from across the front of the stage, a pair of d:dicate 4015s arranged for the main orchestra, a pair of d:dicate 4011s in the wind section and the d:vote 4099s to accent the orchestra's string section. This guaranteed a pure sound for all recordings and radio broadcasts, including those aired on the local NPR station.
"Another big appeal of the d:dicates and the d:votes was their small size," adds Burgess. "We could put them where we wanted without having visual distractions, as we needed to stay out of the way of the performances that took place."
(Jim Evans)
