Jim Tobin wrote:

>(the Wang Center is)  Too large if neither my ears nor memory have failed
>me.  Doesn't the Wang use amplified, rather than natural, sound?

The Wang Center in Boston was originally built as a large movie house
(the Metropolitan Theater) in the first decades of the 20th century.
By definition its large audience potential (greater than 3500 is my
recollection) is really too cavernous to be used without sound
amplification.  Its reconstruction for use with grand opera extended the
stage in all directions including a heightened roof to accomodate larger
fly space.  Perhaps inconsistent with classic opera houses, most modern
opera spaces use amplification, a real potential benefit (IMHO) of 20th
century technology.

(An item of interest is the audience size of Boston's Symphony Hall which
seats  2600, long believed to be the limit of spaces suitable for good
concert acoustics without amplification.  Symphony Hall, built in 1900,
long ago accomodated optional amplification when the requirements dictate
-- a frequent occurance for the Pops and other miscellaneous concerts.)

Bernard Gregoire
Hingham, MA