The Düsseldorf Opera House deploys Lawo's IP audio technology

Three mc²56 native IP consoles Lawo configure the new IP-based audio infrastructure made by the Düsseldorf Opera House (Germany), to offer more capacity, performance and flexibility in your productions.

In the audio control room of the Düsseldorf Opera House a console is used mc²56 with 32 Faders manufacturer's Lawo; a second of 16 Faders in the in-house production studio, and a third, also of 16 Faders, is available for mobile use, with an extender of 16 faders for console expansion.

Integration with networks dante existing for sound reinforcement, the monitoring of the stage and lobby is carried out with Lawo Power Core, with six Dante interfaces. This infrastructure provides the performance, the capacity and flexibility required for modern and future-oriented opera productions.

For this project, the engineering company BWKI (Bühnenplanung Walter Kottke Ingenieure), specialized in scenic planning, was in charge of the planning, while the technical execution was carried out by the system integrator Industrial Arts.

The new system works in parallel with the existing installation, allowing the sound department to adjust their workflows and settings at their own pace.

As he points out Thomas Gabbert, head of the sound department of the Düsseldorf Opera (Deutsche Oper am Rhein), "The existing digital mixer was installed a few years ago as a temporary replacement for our ageing analogue technology., but soon reached its performance limits. That's why, the opera house has decided to invest in a new audio infrastructure to provide high-quality sound reinforcement and processing.".

Flexible integration

After testing with different systems, Gabbert opted for Lawo's tenology. "In addition to the high DSP performance and the routing capacity of the A_UHD Core, we immediately fall in love with the flexibility of your systems. Our three mc²56 consoles dynamically share the resources of a A_UHD Core, which allows us to adapt the infrastructure to each production".

Before tackling the project, Remember Joachim Lindemann, by BWKI, "We modernized stage management technology, including the monitoring system and then the sound reinforcement infrastructure, covering three areas: the opera house system, the lobby and the stage".

One of the advantages that Lindemann highlights of Lawo's system is "its ultra-compact size. In a redundant configuration, the core A_UHD occupies only 4UK in the rack of the lower stage: 2RU for DSPs and other pair for Ravenna switches. Only 1RU is needed for the six Dante interfaces and one management switch".

The integration of the new IP-based audio system, including interfaces and stageboxes has been simple "and communicates seamlessly with our existing scenario management mix console", says Lindemann.

An important element in this project is the integration of a 3D audio in the sound room of the opera house. "We no longer go to specific speakers, but we rely on sound sources, says Gabbert.

In this sense, a tracking system takes care of the wireless microphones on stage. “Signals from sources go to the sound system via a Lawo DSP layer, and from there to the spatial audio system for 3D presentation-. Through the interconnected mixing matrices, you can also control individual speakers or groups directly".

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