by Claudio Masci, from PRODUCTION PARTNER 9/2000
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La Traviata
A very special opera event went on in
Paris in early June 2000: »La Traviata« by Giuseppe Verdi,
performed at the original places and times of day, was live-broadcasted
on TV. This is a new kind of program with very particular technical
and artistic demands where a look behind the curtain is truly fascinating.
125 broadcasting services – from Argentina to Cypress, from Finland
to New Zealand – put the show on air, and approximately 1.5 billion
people watched the performance according to figures spread by the Italian
Broadcasting Service RAI.
Audio Broadcasting for the TV Production of »La Traviata« in
Paris
Act 2, Scene 1: An old building in Versailles is the second site of the opera. There is no trace of the large-scale live broadcasting taking place.
Performing an opera at the original sites and broadcasting it on TV – that
rather reminds of a live feature than the performance of classical music.
There had been a forerunner event several years before when »Tosca« had
been played in Rome – quite a success in opera-enthusiastic Italy.
As some kind of sequel to this innovative genre, producer Andrea Andermann
and RAI made an even more complex performance happen – »La
Traviata« in Paris!
Act 2, Scene 2: Le Petit Palais in Paris is the third site of the
opera by Verdi
Original Sites with a Central Orchestra
»La Traviata« was inspired by Alexandre Dumas' novel »The
Lady of the Camellias« that is said to be based on a true story from
19th-century Paris. Music scientists are quite sure to have found the four
original places where it all had happened: A palais in central Paris (where
today the Italian embassy is located), a small estate near the parks of
Versailles castle, Le Petit Palais – again in the center of Paris
-, and a small miserable room at the Seine shore near the Church of Notre
Dame. It was these locations where the live production took place – on
real, existing backgrounds; only a few artificial wings were erected for
hiding technical equipment but these were not disturbing the scenes.
The technical camp at Versailles, with O.B. Trucks and container studio
An orchestra hall was required in addition to the original sites because
the orchestra was supposed to perform the music from a central place
as a single sonic body. A hall at the Avenue de Wagram was chosen to
accommodate the 60 musicians of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della
RAI that was conducted by Zubin Mehta.
It was not only the original sites but also the original times of
day that were to be considered in order to catch the original atmosphere.
So, a noon scene was played (and broadcasted) at noon while an evening
scene was performed – no surprise – in the evening. Therefore,
the three acts were split up into four programs that were broadcasted
on Saturday evening, Sunday at noon, Sunday evening, and Sunday, half
an hour before midnight.
The makeshift CANTUS studio for the orchestra mix at the Avenue de Wagram
Fivefold Synchronicity
This event was a challenge not only from the casting but also from the
technical point of view. It was crucial to interconnect the five sites
in and around Paris in a way that the singers could hear the orchestra
playing at the Avenue de Wagram and vice versa. Normally, this is not a
problem in our modern telecommunication society; we know satellites and
other connectivity options allowing for accessibility almost everywhere
in the world. However, these means still include a certain latency that
is not acceptable for a synchronous performance of orchestra and singers
in a live situation.
Four original sites in and around Paris plus an orchestra hall had to be networked with and synchronised to each other.
O.B. Trucks or LWC lines could not be provided; on the other hands, highest
demands were put on audio quality because there was not only the live performance
but the recordings were to be released on CD and DVD. Therefore, RAI decided
to set up five distributed digital studios, four of which were networked
using directional radio. France Telecom supplied the required facilities.
Complex Technology
The courtyard of the Petit Palais, larded with speakers and microphones
for the live performance
On the one hand, the four parts were digitally produced
and recorded on 96 tracks (2 x DASH Studer D 820 MCH 48-track machines)
while they transferred to the broadcasting center at the same time using
directional radio and were mixed down there in real time. Only digital
technology could fulfill all demands put on audio quality and the complexity
of the system, so all five sites had been equipped with digital NEXUS routing
systems by Stage Tec. Their 28-bit microphone-input boards allowed for
recording virtually all nuances of the performance and to handle unexpected
dynamic peaks without a flaw.
For this purpose, NEXUS base devices supplying the microphone inputs were
concealed near the opera singers at each site. The audio signals were then
transmitted to the container studios. It was in these studios, which were
almost a thousand feet away from the scene for optical and acoustic reasons,
where mixing and recording took place.
Hidden behind hedges: A NEXUS base device distributes microphone signals
and transfers the synchronous orchestra sounds to the sound-reinforcement
facilities.
In the same way, the orchestra performance was transferred to the numerous speakers
that were skirting the paths of the solo singers. More NEXUS base devices were employed
as routers in the containers studios and as program connections to the directional-radio
stations that were installed on cranes – a highly complex network made up of
many individual units interconnected by fibre-optics.
Musical Wordclock
As the event was being broadcasted on TV, the expenditure was additionally
increased by the fact that neither microphones nor loudspeakers must be
visible. The main actors were equipped with miniature microphones (Sennheiser
Wireless) in their hair, and there were microphones lingering in every
chandelier and behind every sculpture. Speakers were hidden in the high
meadows of the Gardens of Versailles to ensure that the singers were performing
in absolute synchronicity to the orchestra.
All the technical equipment was hidden in the original scene
Even the large choir was not acting statically but moved on according
to the action on stage. It was critical here to mix a choir sound from
many individually picked-up voices – a very complex task since an
overall sound of optimum quality and consistent with the current scene
was to be produced from a multitude of signals. The stabilizing influence
in the ever-changing scenario was the orchestra. Maestro Mehta perfectly
mastered the mission of integrating the remote sites (via headphone) and
the orchestra – with no compromise regarding the performing quality
but very cooperative about this unusual way of working. Thus, the orchestra
hall could be called the »wordclock« of the event – at
least concerning the musical part. The orchestra performance was mixed
and recorded using one of RAI's CANTUS desks that had previously been in
use at the annual live broadcast from the San Remo Canzone Festival. At
the same time, the CANTUS transferred the music to the remote sites. Using
NEXUS, the original program was then passed on to the O.B. Truck, where the
broadcasting sound was mixed.
Showdown at Midnight
Tenor José Cura (second from the left) perusing
the reviews from the day before
The extremely high technical expenditure required an immensely large staff.
Approximately 300 people were involved in the terminal production phase of
about three months. First, the entire technical structure was tested in TV
studios in Rome where also the first artistic events and rehearsals took
place. The entire equipment was then disassembled and sent to Paris where
it was remounted in early May. The final rehearsals, a preview performance,
and the successful live production followed.
In the beginning, many opera enthusiasts were quite uneasy with this performing
concept because it combines the opera performance with TV-feature elements
and the perfection of a cinema production. However, the result was a brilliant
event with an extent of perfection that made many critics assume a playback
swindle!
After all, the timing was perfect thanks to a painstaking preparation.
When the protagonist died of consumption at midnight on Sunday, the Notre
Dame bells stroke midnight – just in time!
La Traviata: A Summary
Act 1: At a ball taking place in her palais in Paris, the celebrated
but shaken Violetta Valéry who is the girlfriend of Baron Douphol
meets her secret lover Alfred Germot who confesses his love to her. Impressed
and being in love for the first in her life, she gives him a camellia and
promises to meet him again when the flower is withered.
Act 2, Scene 1: The two protagonists have discreetly moved
to a villa in Versailles near Paris and are living there in lonesomeness.
One day, when Alfred has gone to Paris, his father visits Violetta and
urges her to sever the unsuitable relationship to Alfred. First Violetta
vigorously defends her love but later on consents to withdraw as the old
Germot puts the screw upon her. She leaves to Paris.
Act 2, Scene 2: Accompanied by Baron Douphol, Violetta arrives
at a festival in Paris where Alfred is expecting her. Several misunderstandings
occur between the two, resulting in an éclat.
Act 3: All the tension has finished Violetta off; she is about
to die. Meanwhile, Alfred's remorseful father has confessed him why Violetta
withdrew so suddenly. She is awaiting his visit eagerly and still hopes
for a common future. However, when Alfred arrives at her small room near
the Seine, she can only asseverate her love to him. Immediately afterwards,
Violetta dies – exactly at midnight.
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