MADONNA has done it, so have Milli Vanilli and the "flawless" Chinese singer Lin Miaoke. But miming isn't a technique associated with the world's great orchestras.

As a result, the Sydney Symphony's confirmation that it mimed its entire performance at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics comes as something of a shock. Even worse, it admits the backing tape was recorded, in part, by its southern rival, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

"It [the performance] was all pre-recorded and the MSO did record a minority of the music that was performed," the Sydney Symphony's managing director, Libby Christie, said yesterday. "It's correct that we were basically miming to a pre-recording."