Recordings of Italian Opera orchestra and soloists in a silent room

Anechoic recordings of symphony orchestra have been proposed in the literature and have been used in a multitude of studies concerning both innovative measurements and psychoacoustic experiments. Using the same approach, the present work shows the results of a recording campaign focused on the Italian Opera. Different motifs from Italian Operas have been played by professional musicians and soloist in the silent room of the Bologna University. The excerpts have been chosen both because of their musical style characteristics and their acoustic properties (dynamics, tymbre, vibrato). The chosen motifs come from scores of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini, in order to consider various orchestrations and Opera styles.