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From the Star:
Opera house passes Mozart test
Four Seasons has a full house of 2,000 for sound check
Acoustics part of `commissioning' process before June debut
Apr. 27, 2006. 01:00 AM
JOHN TERAUDS
CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC
The hall is alive with the sound of music. Literally.
Former U.S. president Bill Clinton's winning campaign motto was "It's the economy, stupid." For the designers of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, a.k.a. Toronto's new opera house, the words were more like "It's the music, stupid."
Yesterday morning, an audience heard the result of years of planning and building for the very first time. As Canadian Opera Company general director Richard Bradshaw conducted the dramatic opening chords to Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, it was immediately clear that music is truly front and centre in this space.
The singing from the stage and playing from the orchestra pit sounded clean and mellow. The lyrics were clearly intelligible.
As Bradshaw and chief acoustician Robert Essert pointed out in a briefing with arts journalists the day before, "in every decision we've had to make, Rob (Essert) has been pre-eminent."
Giving Essert control over all issues from the size of the stage opening to the final choice of flooring material has paid off in a stellar musical experience.
Having more than 1,000 make up half of yesterday's audience was the ultimate challenge. If you can hold the Game Boy generation's attention for 90 minutes, you must be doing something right.
Assembling a full house for yesterday's rehearsal was part of a weeks-long process of "commissioning" the new 2,000-seat hall. This includes checking all systems, from toilets to coat checks.
Essert and his team from Sound Space Design, representatives from Diamond & Schmitt Architects (and associated firms), the theatre designers, the contractor and project managers have been scouring every nook and cranny to ensure everything was built right.
Last week, Bradshaw, his orchestra and singers began rehearsals in the space. They are trying various configurations in the large pit, which can be raised or lowered to suit a wide range of musical styles from baroque to modern.
Bradshaw has said, "I didn't want to build a compromise."
For Essert, this meant that the complex scalloped ceiling and hard-plaster balcony cladding were designed "to keep as much sound lively in the room, so that audiences can enjoy the music."
Although the hall sounded excellent in a selection of arias and instrumental music from operas by George Frideric Handel, Mozart and Benjamin Britten, Essert won't say what he thinks — just yet.
Not that the brain behind the gorgeous acoustics at North York's George Weston Recital Hall was worried.
The latest technology and detailed studies of the world's top opera houses informed his Toronto design.
Yesterday, Essert's team recorded the live performance from numerous points in the hall. There will be more live music tonight, and hours of further recording, testing and tweaking in the weeks leading to the Four Seasons Centre's official opening in early June.
If the first sound bites were more than promising, so was the absence of extraneous noise.
"The audience will have to learn to appreciate the silence," said Bradshaw at the briefing. He was referring to the extra $6 million spent to isolate the auditorium from the city, including the subway and streetcars.
Here, too, the resources appear to have been well allocated.
AoD
Opera house passes Mozart test
Four Seasons has a full house of 2,000 for sound check
Acoustics part of `commissioning' process before June debut
Apr. 27, 2006. 01:00 AM
JOHN TERAUDS
CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC
The hall is alive with the sound of music. Literally.
Former U.S. president Bill Clinton's winning campaign motto was "It's the economy, stupid." For the designers of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, a.k.a. Toronto's new opera house, the words were more like "It's the music, stupid."
Yesterday morning, an audience heard the result of years of planning and building for the very first time. As Canadian Opera Company general director Richard Bradshaw conducted the dramatic opening chords to Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, it was immediately clear that music is truly front and centre in this space.
The singing from the stage and playing from the orchestra pit sounded clean and mellow. The lyrics were clearly intelligible.
As Bradshaw and chief acoustician Robert Essert pointed out in a briefing with arts journalists the day before, "in every decision we've had to make, Rob (Essert) has been pre-eminent."
Giving Essert control over all issues from the size of the stage opening to the final choice of flooring material has paid off in a stellar musical experience.
Having more than 1,000 make up half of yesterday's audience was the ultimate challenge. If you can hold the Game Boy generation's attention for 90 minutes, you must be doing something right.
Assembling a full house for yesterday's rehearsal was part of a weeks-long process of "commissioning" the new 2,000-seat hall. This includes checking all systems, from toilets to coat checks.
Essert and his team from Sound Space Design, representatives from Diamond & Schmitt Architects (and associated firms), the theatre designers, the contractor and project managers have been scouring every nook and cranny to ensure everything was built right.
Last week, Bradshaw, his orchestra and singers began rehearsals in the space. They are trying various configurations in the large pit, which can be raised or lowered to suit a wide range of musical styles from baroque to modern.
Bradshaw has said, "I didn't want to build a compromise."
For Essert, this meant that the complex scalloped ceiling and hard-plaster balcony cladding were designed "to keep as much sound lively in the room, so that audiences can enjoy the music."
Although the hall sounded excellent in a selection of arias and instrumental music from operas by George Frideric Handel, Mozart and Benjamin Britten, Essert won't say what he thinks — just yet.
Not that the brain behind the gorgeous acoustics at North York's George Weston Recital Hall was worried.
The latest technology and detailed studies of the world's top opera houses informed his Toronto design.
Yesterday, Essert's team recorded the live performance from numerous points in the hall. There will be more live music tonight, and hours of further recording, testing and tweaking in the weeks leading to the Four Seasons Centre's official opening in early June.
If the first sound bites were more than promising, so was the absence of extraneous noise.
"The audience will have to learn to appreciate the silence," said Bradshaw at the briefing. He was referring to the extra $6 million spent to isolate the auditorium from the city, including the subway and streetcars.
Here, too, the resources appear to have been well allocated.
AoD