068 VENUE

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1 068 VENUE

2 VENUE 069 MALMÖ MALMÖ OPERA HOUSE MALMÖ OPERA HOUSE COULD BE DESCRIBED AS PART OF THE FURNITURE BY SWEDISH INHABITANTS, IT HAS BEEN A DISTINGUISHABLE LANDMARK FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS. IT HAS RECENTLY RECIEVED A DIGITAL UPGRADE, WHICH HAS REVITALISED THE HISTORIC VENUE AND PLACED IT FIRMLY AMONGST ITS 21ST CENTURY PEERS. malmö, sweden EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA Sweden was one of the few countries not to fight in World War II, instead the country decided, somewhat controversially, to build an Opera House. The location chosen for the new theatre was Malmö on the south coast. More than 50 years later, the Opera House is still standing and has recently decided to set itself up for another 50 years by leaving the old fashioned methods behind and moving forward into the digital era. The opportunity to upgrade to digital initially arose from a decision made by the Swedish Government. The EU made a collective decision to change the radio microphone frequency bands, and Sweden was the first country to implement the changes. The update to the frequencies made the existing radio equipment redundant, so Head of the Sound Department at Malmö Opera House, Bengt Firenholt, and his team knew that a new radio system was required. They began to look into different options. Bengt explained: We changed the radio system because the Government decided to change the frequency. We had Sony before and they told us about their new digital wireless system. We like new stuff and we like digital. So we decided to go for that, even though there were a lot of other competing brands that told us we shouldn t go with digital that we should stay with analogue. We were the first in the world to buy the new digital Sony system. The digital wireless microphone system from Sony comprises the DWR-R01D two-channel rack mount wireless receiver and the DWT-B01 wireless microphone transmitter, monitored and managed by Sony s innovative software solutions. The new system equips the theatre with 50 channels, in comparison to the previous system that provided just 40 channels. It only took one production, Les Miserable, to make use of the extra 10 channels. As soon as people hear an Opera House has 50 channels, they want to use them. Having the courage to leverage new and untested solutions and being at the forefront of the technological development has always been important to us. The digital solution from Sony provides us with multiple channels per frequency band as well as detailed remote control of our 50 digital pocket transmitters, said Bengt. The Sony digital wireless system was manufactured and delivered to Malmö Opera House before it was even in full production. So, when it actually arrived at the theatre, it was not equipped for the new Swedish frequencies. As this was the first and largest installation, Sony sent members of its team from Japan to measure, install and check every part of the new system to ensure it was perfect. The audio engineers created a production line during the 10-day visit and built the new Swedish frequencies into the transmitters on site. Since the install, a second version of the system has been released. The audio team at Malmö made some suggestions on how to improve the original, many of which were taken onboard and implemented. Henrik Felixon, Key Account Manager Media at Sony Professional said: We are very excited to be part of this pioneer work and driving the sound technology forward. At Sony we develop our own technologies for sound and image, while many

3 070 VENUE providers are merely combining technical components from different producers. We therefore see few competitors in this arena. The two digital pieces of equipment that followed were installed at the Opera House in the summer of 2011, ready for the premier of Les Miserable on 16 September that showcased the new digital technology for the production. Firstly, a new digital mixing console. Sound Engineer at Malmö Opera House, Svante Axbacke explained the requirements for the console: We wanted a high-end mixing desk with lots of channels and processing because when we do musicals here we have about inputs and about 30 outputs so we needed something that could handle that. The requirements immediately scaled it down to just a few brands and we looked at all of those. Svante and the rest of the audio team opted for a DiGiCo SD7, a lifetime away from the very first mixer Malmö Opera House owned - a Siemans with 10 inputs, 10 outputs and weighing 400kg. The SD7 features a Stealth mixing and routing engine - exclusive to DiGiCo products - for digital processing and is equipped with Super FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) technology, making this desk one of the most capable in its class. The SD7 workstation comprises three 15-inch touch screens and a total of 52 faders, while multicoloured display switches makes access to different layers and functions a quick and simple task, ideal for a musical theatre. We decided DiGiCo was the best for us, and a big part of that was they have a dedicated theatre software specialised for what we do here. It makes everything easy to programme. And of course, it sounds good, continued Svante. The new DiGiCo console arrived at the same time as the TTA Stagetracker FX technology, and together they make a fine combination of tools. The aim of the Stagetracker FX technology is to create the illusion that vocals are delivered directly from the singers and actors themselves, rather than through the sound system. Each actor on stage is fitted with a Stagetracker FX TurboTag, a RF transmitter device that allows the actors movement on stage to be tracked. Malmö currently has a total of 16 TurboTags. The data created by the movement of the actor is transmitted to the RadioEye, which is mounted above the stage at the Opera House. The RadioEye calculates the raw data positions itself, and this data

4 is then transported to the Stagetracker FX Matrix for audio localisation. The Matrix controls delay, levels and EQ to produce constant smooth sound, which follows the actors wherever they move. Since its introduction in 2011, Malmö Opera House also makes use of the partnership between the Stagetracker FX and Figure 53 s QLab. QLab acts as a playback and control component in the Stagetracker system. Figure 53 added a new cue into the QLab software, named the Stagetracker Cue, making access to play and control simple and straight forward. Stagetracker Cue adds another dimension to tracking, not only can the actors and the sound from their microphones be tracked, but the QLab Stagetracker Cue now allows sound effects to be integrated, these too can follow the performers movement, or can be flown around any desire space on the stage, or within the auditorium. The Stagetracker system works best when the sound system has an even spread of speaker cabinets across the width of the stage. The sound system at the 1,524-seat theatre comprises d&b audiotechnik Q1, Q7 and E3 loudspeakers with B2 and B4 subwoofers. These are flown above the stage - centre / left / right - in three line array clusters. There is also an L-Acoustics MTD115 front fill system to ensure all tracking positions are covered. Flemming Sørensen of TTA said: When we fit a system into a venue that is already installed, we are adding onto existing systems. If you have a centre / left / right system it means that you will have two other channels in between. If you do a [vocal] tone and walk from [stage] left to [stage] right and you don t have those two in between channels, you ll hear that it jumps from one to the other, but if you have five channels then you won t feel like there s anything missing.

5 072 VENUE Sound Engineers Svante Axbanke, Jonas Johansson and Head of Sound, Bengt Frienholt Plans are already in place to install another two clusters to fi ll in the gaps and make the tracking system more even later this year. Svante explained why they chose TTA s Stagetracker FX over its competitors: We had a demo from TTA, and years ago we checked the Timax system. During the most recent demo by TTA we could see a lot of improvements and things seemed much easier. Then we started to plan for Les Miserable and the sound designer from Stockholm wanted some kind of tracking system. He d used the Timax system before so he wanted that but we told him we d just seen the Stagetracker system and he should look at it. He was really happy so we decided to get it. Amplifi cation for the sound system is taken care of by a combination of d&b audiotechnik and Lab.gruppen amplifi ers. While networking capabilities are provided by Optocore. The microphone portfolio includes DPA, AKG, Sennheiser, Shure, Neumann, Crown, and Audix. Although the lighting system has not been upgraded alongside the new digital technology, it still boasts an impressive line up. The moving head collection includes four Martin Professional MAC 2000 Performances, 15 Martin Professional MAC 600 s, 10 Martin Professional PAL 1200 framing spots, nine Philips Vari-Lite 3500Q Spots and 11 ETC Source Four Revolutions. More than 200 traditional theatrical profi les and followspots from ETC, Niethammer, Beach Optique, Strand provide a large portion of the lighting stock, and many of these are installed on the lighting bridge that is fl own above the audience. Control for the lighting fi xtures is courtesy of an EGO Controls EGO lighting desk. Dimming at the Opera House is provided by 34 ETC Sine Wave Power Module, which are installed on the lighting bridge and below the stage pivot. A total of 16 ETC Matrix MkII dimming system racks can be found on the balconies and in the basement and 26 ETC IES inodes complete the dimming units. Malmö Opera is equipped with three Sanyo projectors, two PLC- XF47 s for front projection, and a PLC-XF46 for rear projection. The content for the projectors is provided by a Dataton WATCHOUT multi display system, software that allows users to produce both still and moving animations. Three Bright Sign HD410 units control the Sanyo projectors. Modernising existing entertainment venues gives them a new lease of life, and this is certainly the case for Malmö Opera House. It combines the buildings natural charm and historic beauty with advancements that are benefi cial now and in the future. TECHNICAL INFORMATION sound 1 x DiGiCo SD7 console; 1 x TTA Stagetracker FX system with 16 TurboTags; 1 x Sony digital wireless system with 50 channels; d&b audiotechnik Q1 loudspeakers; d&b audiotechnik Q7 loudspeakers; d&b audiotechnik E3 loudspeakers; d&b audiotechnik B2 subwoofers; d&b audiotechnik B4 subwoofers; L-Acoustics MTD115 speakers; K-array speakers for front fill; d&b audiotechnik amplifiers; Lab.gruppen ampilifers; DPA, AKG, Sennheiser, Shure, Neumann, Crown, and Audix microphones lighting 4 x Martin Professional MAC 2000 Performance moving head; 15 x Martin Professional MAC 600 moving head; 10 x Martin Professional PAL 1200 framing spot; 9 x Philips Vari-Lite 3500Q Spot; 11 x ETC Source Four Revolution fixture; 200 x theatrical profiles from ETC, Niethammer, Beach Optique, and Strand; 34 x ETC Sine Wave Power Module dimmer; 16 x ETC Matrix Mk2 dimming system; 26 x ETC IES inodes unit; EGO Controls EGO lighting desk visual 1 x Dataton WATCHOUT 5.1 system with six full HD outputs and two full high definition SDI inputs; 2 x Sanyo PLC-XF47 front projector; 1 x Sanyo PLC-XF46 as back projector; 3 x Bright Sign HD410 unit with full DMX control