Oslo Opera House has selected a flexible and reconfigurable d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system for sound reinforcement at the venue, designed and installed by local sound company Drammen Lyd.
The Opera House, home to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, is known for its strong acoustics requiring no amplification for opera performances due to the design of the interior, shapes of the walls and stage, and the construction materials used.
Despite the acoustics, a loudspeaker system is often needed for other performances including recorded music for ballet productions, as well as rock and pop concerts. For these events, the opera house needs an audio solution capable of providing consistent coverage to members of the audience, wherever they are seated.
Gerhard Hertzberg, head of sound at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet said: “We didn’t just want a system that could deliver consistently excellent sound for our productions. We also wanted to be able to rig and unrig it quickly in multiple configurations to support different types of events, from ballet productions to rock concerts.”
On the decision making process, Gerhard added: “I think we had 12 companies who wanted to deliver the loudspeaker system, so we had a lot of options and a lot of documentation to look through. Based on an in-depth analysis of all the offers, we picked a d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system from local sound company Drammen Lyd, which was the one that met our needs the best.”
The system that Drammen deployed for the opera house can be reconfigured for different events, and additional loudspeakers can be added. Key components include Y-Series line array loudspeakers and V-SUBs.
“Three of us can rig or unrig the system in just 15 minutes, which makes it extremely fast and practical to set up for different types of productions,” stated Gerhard. “We can rig the loudspeakers high up out of sight for the ballet, and bring them right down for rock concerts to provide the high volume and imaging needed.”
On the performance of the d&b system, Gerhard reported: “d&b subwoofers use an innovative driver arrangement that creates a cardioid dispersion pattern, which requires just a single amplifier channel. This rejects energy towards the rear, and minimises the excitation of the reverberant field at low frequencies. There is also excellent transient response, which provides impeccable reproduction for the short percussive sounds often used in classical music.”
Photos: Erik Berg
