[Peibyn]

A good singer will perform differently, depending on whether the room is
reverberant or 'dry'. The singer needs to hear the reverb in order to
give a good performance.

Adrian, I used to work in record production with a famous British label, and you may be interested to learn that we went to a great deal of trouble back then (and I am certain it still happens) to select the best reverberative chamber for the particular performer or group of performers we were recording. For example, certain London halls or churches were rejected because of the kind of reverberation they provided, while others were ideal. Singers particularly were fussy about the venue and usually wished to rehearse in the space prior to the recording so as to accommodate the reverberation of the space. For example, a soprano might find that she needed only to produce a high note in a particular way in order to produce the most pleasing effect - all because of the acoustics in the space.

Also, the degree of reverberation effects the singer's psychology as he or she sings. For example, a completely "dead" space (in which we would never record) would give nothing back to the singer or musicians, making them feel as if they were performing in a vacuum - a very disheartening effect, likely to produce a recording that indicates what actually happened, a battle against an ungiving space.

On the other hand, I appreciate that a space which is barely reverberative can provide the performer with "honest" feedback. This is useful in rehearsal.