Salzburg's Grand Palais of Festivals revamps audio with Lawo

The modernization of the control room of this opera and concert venue includes an audio production console Lawo mc²56 MkIII with 32 Faders. In addition, the system is equipped with the A__UHD Core audio engine, complemented by the A__stage64 stage boxes and A__stage80 for the high-resolution audio interface, and A__madi6 for integration with additional audio components.

The Grand Palais des Festivals (Grosses Festspielhaus) of Salzburg, with a capacity of 2.200 Spectators, It is one of the most prestigious opera and concert venues in the world. Since its inauguration in 1960, has been the main stage of the Salzburg Festival (Salzburger festspiele), bringing together renowned international artists for elaborate opera and orchestral productions.

The venue's sound infrastructure must respond to demanding challenges as high audio quality is required, Operational flexibility and reliability. As part of a technical modernization initiative, Austrian public broadcasters ORF has renovated the audio control room of the Grosses Festspielhaus with Lawo technology.

The modernization includes an audio production console Lawo mc²56 MkIII with 32 Faders, selected for its sound quality, flexible configuration options and integration with existing ORF systems. The system is equipped with the A__UHD Core Audio Engine, complemented by the Stage boxes A__stage64 and A__stage80 for high-resolution interface, and A__madi6 for integration with additional audio components.

Integration with Waves SoundGrid offers extensive sound processing capabilities, while a IP-based network infrastructure with Redundant switches ensures stable and future-proof signal transmission.

Challenges of live opera

Frank Wendtner-Andraschko, Tonmeister de ORF, Highlights the complexities of producing a live opera. "These combine music, Voice and staging. The orchestra plays from the pit, while singers and choirs perform on stage. Additional musical and vocal elements are often placed behind the scenes, on the lighting bridges, In the attic or under the stage. Each production presents new challenges, from microphone placement to mixing in 5.1" surround sound.

Lawo mc²56 MkIII impressed with its flexibility and intuitive operation. “Extensive free controls allow us to assign global or channel-specific parameters, ensuring quick and accurate adjustments to the workflow. In addition, the MIDI integration Allows remote control of the panning of wireless stage microphones (Hidden microphones), simplifying our production processes", adds Wendtner-Andraschko.

Another crucial factor in choosing Lawo was its integration with ORF's infrastructure. “Our studio control rooms and mobile units already use Lawo technology, which makes us have a proven system. The distribution of IP-based signal allows us to smoothly control productions, Not only in the Grand Palais des Festivals, but also in the Felsenreitschule and the Mozart House. The stage boxes are housed in the central hub, where the signals from all the venues are received and distributed by means of fibre optics.

Operas and large orchestral productions require a Audio mixing console especially high, plus a large number of channels. Often more than 60 Entry, High dynamics, Fidelity and lossless signal processing are crucial.

The Lawo mc²56 MkIII meets these requirements with high-quality microphone preamps for maximum transparency, Flexible routing options for monitoring, Streaming and recording, as well as smooth IP connectivity. Redundant systems ensure maximum reliability and uninterrupted performance.

Future-proof infrastructure

With the new Lawo configuration, ORF has established a high-performance, future-proof audio infrastructure. Thanks to the IP technology, the DSP capabilities and a flexible network architecture, The system is well equipped to easily manage future production needs.

“Our investment in Lawo's technology has paid off. We now have a reliable solution, with exceptional and highly adaptable sound that meets the demanding demands of the Salzburg Festival”, concludes Wendtner-Andraschko.

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