A performance of Verdi’s Otello was recently staged by Fondazione Teatro La Fenice to mark the bicentenary of the Italian composer.
The setting was the courtyard of the 15th century of the Palazzo Ducale, in the heart of Venice, which revived a tradition of outdoor performances at the palace between 1949-67. In addition to the live performances, the concerts were recorded by sound engineer Antonio Martino of MASclassica, who required a large number of remote-controlled mic preamplifiers and a recording system capable of handling a high channel count. The preamps also had to be installed unobtrusively, at a significant distance from the recording system.
A further requirement was that the set-up needed to be installed and then stripped down in the shortest possible time.
For Martino and fellow engineer, Claudio Speranzini, the solution was Focusrite’s RedNet, which provided a network of audio interfaces over Dante. RedNet enabled Martino to place inputs where they were needed around an extensive set, which accommodated the 40-piece orchestra and the chorus of the Teatro La Fenice, plus the Venetian Little Singers and an extensive roster of soloists.
Martino used four RedNet 4 units – each providing eight Focusrite remote-controlled mic preamps – for the on-stage microphones, employing 16 channels for the orchestra and another 16 for the choir, stage and audience microphones. Two RedNet 4s were located at the front of the stage and two at the back.
At the side of the stage a RedNet 1 provided eight line-level inputs and outputs and premium A/D-D/A conversion to bring audio in from wireless mics and to output monitoring feeds. All of the RedNet units were connected to a common gigabit network switch via standard Cat6 Ethernet cable, which was plugged directly into a MacBook Pro running Steinberg Nuendo software for recording. A second MacBook Pro was used to capture a backup copy from the same network.
To get audio into the computer and to control and route the RedNet units on the network, Martino used Dante’s Virtual Soundcard alongside RedNet Control and Dante Controller software: ‘The configuration with the Dante Controller software was very quick and easy,’ he says. ‘The matrix allows immediate management of inputs and outputs.
‘For me, one of the most interesting aspects of this installation – in common with other projects where I’ve used RedNet – was how simple it was to interconnect the modules via a single Ethernet cable,’ he continues. ‘We could use extended cable runs, sometimes as long as 40m, without having to resort to tens of metres of analogue cables, snakes or whatever. In addition, the ability to remote-control the units allowed us to place the preamplifiers extremely close to the instruments to capture the very best sound.
‘I found the quality and transparency of the mic preamps was excellent: not only on this project but also during our recording of Rossini’s opera L’italiana in Algeri.’ The latter performance was recorded in the Teatro Rossini at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro.
The simplicity of Dante networking made it possible to build a flexible and easily configured system in a very short time. It also delivered studio-grade sound.
The performance was captured using 11 cameras on HD video, and will be broadcast on Sky Classica in Italy on Verdi’s birthday in October, as well being scheduled for release on CD.
More: www.focusrite.com/rednet
