I went for the first sound test in the new opera house, I was part of the very first audience to hear anything in the new house. The hall is better than I had imagined and what you see online on the coc website doesn't even compare slightly to what you experience in the new hall. The orchestra pit is a wonderful size and one of the best I have ever seen. It is perfect for any mozart opera and can lower to fit a full wagner orchestra. During the sound test we got to experience several Magic Flute excerpts with the orchestra at medium height and then when it is lowered and to hear the difference immediately was quite exciting. One thing is for sure now, you will never be able as a singer to get away with anything anymore. Since the acoustics are so clean you are really in the open and every word said improperly or note out of place with the rest of the line will immediately be noticable to the entire audience. This realization fills me with a new sense of focus to make sure that I am the best that I can be and hopefully being able to sing on that stage someday.
There is a nice warm echo in the hall at the end of a note and it was evident by the singers that they could hear themselves on stage due to the sound engineering that was made so some sound bouces back to the stage and orchestra. One of the amusing things about the new house is that it looks like it was all furnished and designed by IKEA but its comfortable and sound great so I don't care. There was tons of construction outside with the subway going and sirens and all of that but I couldn't hear even a hint of any of that even though there were times during the sound test where there was absolute and complete silence in the hall, the silence was tremendous.
Those who get to sing in the new hall in its first season are very lucky that they will be part of an importance historical event in the cultural development of this city and country. Its weird to think that eventually I will be able to tell my grandkids that I was there in the first performance and possibly sang there in the first season (should I be lucky enough to get a Chorus contract).
So the hall passes with flying colours and I encourage all those to either get season tickets in the new hall if at all possible, or get in to expereince the hall the first oppertunity you get.
Hope you all have a wonderful summer.
