If any of you now have, or have had small children, you may at some time have told them to use their "inside voice". Being in direct opposition to their heedlessly screaming "outside voices", we hope that the image of their "inside voices" is one of genteel charm, or at least enough contiguous stillness that the cat will not spontaneously shed half of its fur in panic, and the crockery will not shatter. We hope. I don't have any small children myself – I simply rent them from my friends when my cat's fur gets too thick.

But what does it mean for an opera singer to use their inside voice? It's an interesting question to ponder, so try this...

Find the largest unobstructed space in your house. For me, it is a span about 40 feet long, starting in my kitchen, through the open door to my dining room, and continuing on into my living room. Depending on whether you live in Oakland or Fox Chapel, your mileage may vary. Now imagine carrying on a conversation across that distance. Then pretend, if you will, that someone has turned on the stereo. Add to that a dozen other people talking, and a chef banging pots and pans in the kitchen.

Are you screaming at the top of your lungs yet? Not if you are a powerfully-voiced singer – you're just warming up!

The distance from center stage at the Benedum Center to the end of the back row of Second Tier is over 230 feet (Pittsburgh Opera's Technical Director Clint Bennett actually measured it for me :-). When I saw Greer Grimsley singing the role of Baron Scarpia in Tosca in April, I was "merely" in Row N in the center of the Second Tier. That meant that I was about 50 feet closer than W69 and W70 (the farthest seats at the back corners left and right of the house). Greer was somewhat larger than an ant from where I sat, but even in the rarified atmosphere of the nosebleed seats, he was clearly heard.

When he was singing at the close of Act I, he was about 6 times farther away than the maximum distance you can get in my house. But the stereo wasn't on – there was a 55 piece orchestra playing fortissimo (and the percussionists were beating louder than any chef I have ever heard). There weren't a dozen people talking, there was a full operatic chorus singing (again, fortissimo). And yet even in the back row, when he sang "Tosca, you make me forget God!", you could hear every word and every note (although the OpTrans supertitles did help me with the Italian). Oh yes, one more thing: the singers are not mic'ed. There is no amplification (just good acoustics), and what you hear is what they give.

But think about it... he was farther away than Ben Roethlisberger has ever thrown a football. He was more than 80 yards away, and you could hear him over a full orchestra and a full chorus going at full blast. And in spite of the sonic competition he still brought shivers to my spine.

So next time you are tempted to tell those kids to "use your inside voice", you might instead point out to them that compared to an opera singer, they are a bunch of wimps, amateurs, and lightweights. It won't shut them up, but it might make you feel better.