What does the term “opera” conjure up? For me, opera is a classic art form that combines music, song, costumes, storytelling and elaborate stage sets — but it’s a genre that’s generally not accessible (or appreciated) by the average Joe. Operas were first written back in the 16th century. They reached their golden age in the 19th century, and to this day, hundreds of operas are still being performed at famous opera houses throughout the world, and a few are still being composed. Ever been to a performance?
Most would sadly say “no,” and this begs the question — how would a major opera company attract a new audience, and expose them to the wonders of Mozart, Verdi, Bizet and more?
Inspired by Rodeo
This very question was on the minds of the San Francisco Opera company. As it turned out, their general director, David Gockley, attended a rodeo one day during his tenure as the general director of the Houston Grand Opera. Up on the arena’s big screen, he enjoyed close-ups of the riders, the horses and bulls, the clowns, and all the associated rodeo action. He thought — why can’t an opera do that?
The result of that spark is the San Francisco Opera’s closed circuit video system called “OperaVision.” When Gockley moved to San Francisco in 2006, he initiated the multi-million dollar Opera-
Vision video suite, which to this day has increased attendance, and continues to grow in popularity.
To learn more about the system, I spoke at length with Frank Zamacona, OperaVision’s resident video director, and someone with quite a history directing for live comedy, the Grateful Dead, HBO projects, corporate projects and more — but prior to this gig, never an opera.
“They looked at my reel, and they thought I had the sensibility for it,” said Zamacona. “I said, ‘Hey, I’ve never done an opera before. It’s really a stretch’ — but they said, ‘Go for it!’”
For the Nosebleed Seats
“When Gockley came on board, he decided to shoot close-ups for the people in the nosebleed seats in the upper balcony, which seats about 900 people,” explained Zamacona. “We installed an HD video system and rolled screens down in their peripheral vision — one on each side of the auditorium. The stage is really deep, up to 150 feet, but with these screens and our cameras, now about 450 people can see the upstage action that simply couldn’t be seen before from the upper balcony.”
OperaVision also supplements an electronic display called “supertitles” at the top of the curtains, just below the proscenium arch. As originally installed in 1984, this text-only display is purpose-built for showing translations in synch with the singing and acting — but it’s an essential tool for telling the story, and the text is keyed over the OperaVision video. “Once the supertitles came into being, it was like a miracle,” added Zamacona, “because everybody said, oh, that’s what they’re saying!”
“At the outset, we took it upon ourselves to go up into the balcony and ask people what they thought of the OperaVision screens,” noted Zamacona,” because we wanted to see if it worked. In the beginning, 98 percent of the people hated it. And over the years now, 98 percent of the people love it. They actually know where they’re going to sit, and buy their subscriptions based on OperaVision, and the specific performances that offer it.”
Terabytes of Storage
Within the Opera house, everything is controlled from the
Koret-Taube Media Suite, named for the San Francisco-based philanthropic foundation that helped fund the video facility. It’s the first permanent HD production facility installed in any opera house in the U.S. The system also boasts a network with monitors in the box office, at the downstairs bar, in the restaurant, in makeup, in wardrobe, and many other locations.
The original eight OperaVision cameras were Sony HDC-X310s, but it wasn’t possible to put long enough lenses on them for the close-ups. The video team switched to Sony HDC-1500s with long zoom lenses (42x), and added small Sony HDCP-1 multi-purpose cameras for close-ups in the orchestra pit — and every camera in the entire system is robotic. All told, there are 11 cameras — two in the orchestra pit, one on the maestro, and the remaining eight appropriately placed around the auditorium. Each camera uses a whisper-quiet robotics head developed by Cambotics, now part of Ross Video.
The control room includes stations for the director, assistant director (AD), technical director (TD), and all camera operators — each with their own multi-viewer. In the auditorium, the screens are driven by Panasonic PT-DW7000, 6500 lumen projectors. All performances are recorded on a 270-terabyte storage area network, and archived using a Quantum LTO 5 data storage system. Not only is the program feed recorded, but every camera is isolated and recorded individually — so that the performers can review their acting and singing.
The Crew, and the All-Important AD
In the video suite, a maximum of five camera operators work each performance — meaning each camera operator actually handles two or three cameras simultaneously, plus a special “Shot Driver” developed by Tod Nixon, one of the facility’s sound engineers.
The Cambotics station, in combination with the Shot Driver, enables the camera operator to access hundreds of presets — each of which stores a camera’s pan, tilt, focus and zoom positions. The presets are automatically advanced by “takes” on the production switcher, which adds a little automation to an already complex multi-cam process.
“It’s a terrific tool,” said Zamacona, “because at the camera stations, it’s hard to flip pages when you’ve got your hands on the joystick. Sometimes there are over 1,600 shots per camera for each operator. There are a lot of elements in telling a story like the Marriage of Figaro to the audience. The singing is part of it, but like all TV sitcoms, the comedy is very complex, and Shot Driver really helps.”
During a performance, Zamacona works closely with the AD. “She’s highly skilled in music,” explained Zamacona. “She knows the instruments, and even though we have shot sheets, she’s ahead of me in terms of setting up the next shots. With a lot more movement and acting in opera these days, the AD’s role is really valuable.”
Branching Out
As the success of OperaVision grew, the opera reached out to new audiences with live broadcasts to movie theaters in the western U.S., live broadcasts to Europe, numerous simulcasts, and even a remarkable simulcast at AT&T Ballpark, where up to 30,000 people watched the big screen, and relaxed in the outfield.
Based on the system’s popularity, it turns out that many opera companies are taking a close look at using video. “The Lyric Opera of Chicago is the third largest in the U.S., and they’re going to do an OperaVision approach,” said Zamacona. “The Minnesota Opera had a successful experiment last year, while the Washington National Opera had 8,000 people turn out to a broadcast at the Nationals’ stadium.”
Technology and the Audience
“We’re fighting the traditional battle, because there are still people in our audience with opera glasses,” said Zamacona. “Instead, we’re trying to bring in a new audience with the video technology that we have, without forgetting the traditionalists. We’re even developing a streaming platform that we hope to launch in the summer.”
“With this new technology, we’re trying to convey that emotion, for the big screen or the small screen,” explained Zamacona. “When we screen a new opera like Moby Dick, it was bigger than life. You have to make sure you get those panoramic shots of the stage, but we’re also going to DVD and broadcast, so it’s got to be intimate. You have to see that tear in the eye. You have to see Ahab in his nastiest, and the fantastic makeup.”
Television is a close-up medium, and I can truly see the appeal of the OperaVision approach, especially for those that have never thought of attending an opera before. Way back when, opera was the people’s music — and once you attend a performance, you’ll clearly see why.
