Channel Islands audiences and acoustics

Concert with Hatstand Opera in Guernsey went well last night.

It's fascinating doing the same show for different audiences. The audience last night was quite quiet. They were definitely laughing in the comedy bits, but they were quite "well-behaved" and we didn't get the ripple effect. That's where a small section of the audience starts laughing and the laugh spreads slowly across the whole hall. It's great when that happens for two reasons - the audience starts to work together, and we get a few seconds respite on stage.

Early start this morning - 6.30am. And for those of you who sniff at being up before dawn, I usually surface around 9. Breakfast and down to the harbour for the 8am ferry to Sark. Sea like a millpond and a beautiful sunny day. There's a great system for luggage in Sark - you put your suitcase on the tractor trailer, and it arrives at your lodgings while you get the tractor-tram up to the high street and walk the rest of the way.

The Island Hall was new last year, and we spent a long time then baffling the piano to tone down the cathedral-like acoustics. The hall itself is superb - with a three-storey ceiling like the inside of an upturned boat - but the acoustics were a bit of a battle, particularly for a wordy show. This year they've had acoustic panels installed, and the difference is incredible. There's enough ring to give a warmth and slight blurring to the sound, but it's dry enough to be able to hear what is being said or sung.

We normally spend half our rehearsal time listening out for the acoustic and adjusting accordingly. I think it comes as a surprise to some of our dep singers that the girls can tune their voices to the acoustic. More twang, less twang, more depth, a slimmer sound, and then whether the words are clipped, smoother, more or less consonants.

Whatever works best for the space.


Jeremy is the co-author of Successful Singing Auditions

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