CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: As genres, production techniques, and technology coalesce in the world of theater and opera, traditional lines are being crossed and boundaries broken in the name of elevated performance and impact. The world famous Lyric Opera of Chicago recently incorporated over twenty Sennheiser wireless microphone systems to reinforce only the spoken word portions of Kurt Weill's American tour de force, Street Scene. Written in 1947, Street Scene explores heroine Anna Maurrant's heartrending search for true love set against the backdrop of a teeming New York immigrant neighborhood.

Several seasons ago, David Pountney directed a production of Street Scenes with the English National Opera using minimal sound reinforcement. When he was commissioned to direct the production at the 3600-seat Lyric Opera of Chicago, Pountney knew he would need wireless microphone systems. Well aware of the aversion opera "purists" have traditionally had to sound reinforcement, he decided to use modest reinforcement of only some spoken dialog. This would permit acoustic delivery and intelligibility without compromising the excellence Lyric Opera patrons have come to expect (i.e. no sound reinforcement).

With this in mind, the Lyric Opera of Chicago hired sound consultant Otts Munderloh, who met with David Pountney to discuss wireless mic systems. With years of live performance and recording experience, Munderloh unhesitatingly recommended using the Sennheiser SK 50 tunable bodypack transmitter and the MKE-2 Gold lavalier microphone. "You simply can't trust any other system," Munderloh observed. "Sennheiser wireless is rugged, dependable and sonically superior to everything else out there."

He relayed a telling testimonial to that statement. "During dress rehearsal, we had one split SK 50 body pack in a dancer's wig that saw fit to come loose. Every time the dancer performed a double turn, the two transmitters connected by a thin wire around her neck swung around like a modern-day bolo! It hit her left shoulder; three times around, it hit her right shoulder. Then the SK 50 came apart and slammed into the stage. Like all true professionals, the dancer continued her performance to the end. When I picked up the SK 50 transmitter from the stage, I presumed it was damaged. Nevertheless, it was reassembled, the batteries replaced and it worked as though nothing had happened to it! Now that's rugged performance."

The day-to-day intentionally "soft-handed" sound reinforcement at the Lyric Opera of Chicago is handled by house engineer, Todd Snick. Any trepidation regarding the use of sound reinforcement has been hopefully reduced, thanks to the reliability and sensitivity of the Sennheiser wireless system and the audience's appreciation of the clear intelligibility.