“How can we mic two nude opera singers?”

“The SSM’s performed brilliantly with the superior audio quality we rely on from Lectrosonics while being completely concealable and wearable for the singers. The SSM made all the difference in this stealthy application.”

“How can we mic two nude opera singers?” was the provocative challenge posed to Soundmirror, a renowned Massachusetts-based classical music recording and production company, in the live recording of the Houston Grand Opera’s (HGO) acclaimed production of Missy Mazzoli’s opera, Breaking the Waves. Undaunted by the production’s staging, Soundmirror and HGO successfully navigated the challenge through creative placement of Lectrosonics ultra-compact SSM digital hybrid wireless micro transmitter and Breaking the Waves was performed and recorded with nary a microphone in sight.

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The recording of Breaking the Waves, an operatic treatment of the Lars von Trier film, presented specific and considerable difficulties during the pivotal scene where two of the main characters, Bess and Jan, were staged to be “almost completely nude” for several minutes. This unique staging meant that the “usual practice of concealing a transmitter in a pocket or under a costume was not available,” explains Soundmirror Senior Producer, Blanton Alspaugh.

Discussions ensued with the opera company’s hair and costume departments to find a viable solution and the answer came with the Lectrosonics SSM micro transmitter, whose diminutive size proved to be the key. Alspaugh recalled, “When we learned about the small dimensions of Lectrosonics new SSM transmitters, we went to the team at HGO and we said, ‘can you conceal this transmitter in Bess’s hair’?”

“At Soundmirror, our philosophy is that technology should serve the art, but none of this is about the technology,” Alspaugh asserts. “In opera, it’s about telling the story and Lectrosonics gear is always a transparent means to render words and music more intelligibly and more beautifully than you ever could without those tools.”

“Lectrosonics removes the barrier between the artist and the listener by being so transparent.”

For more than 50 years, Soundmirror has been the first-choice recording company for orchestras, choral groups, opera companies, solo artists and record labels. The company combine world-class customer service, recording equipment, and industry knowledge to produce recordings that are consistently acknowledged by the press, industry peers, and have earned over 140 GRAMMY nominations and awards.

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