I've used the regular 4060's without trouble, but 4061 is the safer bet, if high SPL's are a concern.

Honestly, I wouldn't share the elements between actors unless you are (a) cleaning them thoroughly with alcohol first, and (b) there is substantial time (like a day) between the first actor and second actor using it. Rent extra elements, bill the client, explain why you need to rent. Most people would rather spend a few dollars a day in rental once that reasoning is explained to them.

Man.. you're lucky then if you've been good with 4060s. I've had some very nasty clipping issues with 4060 microphones- even ear and wig mount. For speech, they're great, but for any singer that gets even moderately loud, I've had substantial problems with them overloading. Even had to return a 10 element rental for a show because they gave us the 4060 instead of 4061. Was a scramble to get the right ones because of the late nature of it. Rental house was less than thrilled, but they didn't seem to understand the difference.

--Ben

Ben. Did you order 61s and received 60s? No bueno.

D.

Unfortunately that is exactly what happened.

They gave us the mics that were light colored for our performers skin as requested rather than the correct mics. And this was a company that should have known better. Our wireless system was an Axient rig.

If you speced the correct mics and they subbed them out for something else without approval, then yeah, that F-up is on them and they should have eaten it.

And that’s exactly what happened. Ended up with mics that were the wrong color, but such is life. At least they didn’t overload. With 8 or 9 singers on them, I think 6 or 7 overloaded regularly. 4060s for that reason do not get used on my stages.

Couple of comments from the cheap seats...
I've recorded a couple of operas over the years, and I strongly suggest you look into the DPA 4071 on the hairline. It offers the most natural pickup by far when compared to the 4060/4061/COS11... etc.
When it comes to transmitters, we're all fully Lectro digital now, but the SMQV and LT Digital Hybrid transmitters worked great. They can be set so that you are not slamming into the companding all day but still have good S/N. The fully digital stuff Like the Lectro Dbu/DSQD setup that we are using now is truly a huge step forward, just like the Sennheiser 9000 and other fully digital wires.
My second comment is that you will still want some area micing for the singers. The best opera capture is made from a combination of the wires and area micing to create a natural stage sound.
As always, YMMV.
All the best,
Mark

Mark-

Have you tried/tested the Audio Limited wireless vs your lectro systems? Been quite happy with them here in smaller systems for the exact reasons you mention. No companding and other manipulation that ruin the sound. But I’ve never done a direct comparison.

Also. Haven’t used the new small Dpa elements. How do they differ in sound? I’ve heard good things.

Ben,
We're pretty well into the Lectro ecosystem and the lectro support is worth it's weight in gold. Most of the fully digital systems are pretty good these days, but the ability to pack 40+ channels without massive issues is a real selling point for the new Lectros.
We listened to the DPA 6000 series and didn't like the sound. The 4071 is a really sweet sounding mic for the big voices. It has the perfect lift for hairline and works without eq most of the time.
All the best,
Mark

Mark. Are you recording the Boston Lyric? I think that large opera ensembles that have the budget for a full-on production, like the Met, are using a combo of body mics and hall/stage mics for their television (PBS) shows. Nice work if you can get it. The Seattle Opera broadcasts their shows on the local classical music FM and only recently was persuaded to abandon their former "freebie" engineer for paid audio production. I think we get excellent results; maybe 20-25 inputs and rarely a body mic.

During COVID, there have been some video performances at Benaroya and not the Opera House. The Benaroya crew has been doing those and I have heard no news (or seen any shows) other than they keep getting interrupted by COVID positives. Ugh! What a time.

D.

One note with headsets... it may have been mentioned, but... be certain the element is BEHIND the corner of the mouth (I like 1/4"-1/2", depending on the way plosives are generated). The omni element in 4066 and others are much less prone to "popping"... but a plosive is a plosive, and avoidance is key. Omnis do make alternate placements less troublesome as the basic sound quality doesn't change with distance, only the required gain to your desired level.

Cheers.

HB

Doug,
Ironically, we don't do any recording in Boston. In the last few years we've done about 30 productions (Both commercial audio and Video/TV) in LA, Washington National Opera, Santa Fe, Dallas, Houston, Milwaukee, Wolftrap, Michigan Opera Theater and Glimmerglass. Most of our productions are for commercial release, so we get as many inputs as we need, as long as nobody can see them... My biggest obstacle these days is projected sets. In theses situations we are forced to use wireless to get something that is viable in the marketplace. If the director sees light bouncing off a microphone, we typically have to fight to keep it. Often the mains are obscenely high and just good for ambience. My footlight mic system and pit wall mics make up the bulk of the picture, With the wireless filling the clarity on the voices and hanging stuff just adding space. A typical production is north of 80 inputs with anything from 25 to 40 inputs on the orchestra.

We had 3 different productions go down the drain on short order due to Covid last fall and this spring.

All the best,
Mark

We (were) seeing a lot of this stuff as well but we rely heavily on footlight PZMs and high downstage and upstage pair. Sometimes off-stage as well. We are looking into some short shots (416s) to get the upstage stuff better.

Our opera house has a nice catwalk just upstage of the proscenium arch that is ideal for a pair of cards for down stage action but upstage is a high pipe which is not ideal.

About 12 mics in the pit.

Sometime the house will provide a solo (RF) mic for performers the fly and such. Rarely.

D.

Ironically, I'm now working on preproduction for a sort of opera the first week of May. It's just a set of songs and arias, some of them original and commissioned by the company I'm working for. Eight singers total, and a solo piano for accompaniment. Max audience of 700 in the house (out of 2,400 capacity). It's going to be live streamed with a multi camera shoot, and also broadcast on NPR (I think) nationwide through the Boston NPR affiliate later in the summer. I'm trying to get the company to let me use wireless on the singers. We'll see if it works out or not.