Usually an active acoustics system is installed to reach optimal sound for a certain musical style and ensemble within a concert or performance. In theatre and opera changes in scenery and lighting are used to create different moods for different scenes, but the major impact of changes in an acoustical environment is neglected.
What if an active acoustics system is employed to cater to the theatrical needs of a performance?
Two productions are presented where the live room resonance was adjusted to the specific atmospheres of the performance. Customized acoustic spaces were developed so that all-acoustic activity would react like a natural hall, but with a diverse variety of shades and shapes.
Example one is a reinvention of Mozart’s Requiem by Romeo Castellucci & Raphaël Pichon. This piece blends dramaturgical, orchestral, and choir elements, requiring performers to jump between intimate and reflective vocals into bold orchestral expressions. This unconventional approach to the Requiem, influenced as much by Mozart’s religiosity as by Castellucci’s love for avant-guard cinema, required frequent fluctuation between a dry and intimate soundstage and rich and reverberant acoustics.
Example two is the operetta „La Perichole“ by Jacques Offenbach. Nikolaus Habjan revived Offenbach's masterpiece with a finely mocking look at politics and culture. A balancing act between spoken parts and musical pieces required very different acoustical settings.
Active Acoustics in a large scale open air environment
Oper Im Steinbruch, the annual opera event set in the Roman Quarry ampitheatre of St Margarethen features Europe’s largest outdoor stage with 80m width and 30m depth. Object-based spatialization and spatial active acoustics are employed to ensure the classical opera narratives, such as 2022’s Nabucco by Verdi or 2023’s Carmen by Bizet, are simple to follow for the 4700-capacity audiences.
A total of 98 loudspeakers with 53 speaker positions were integrated in the scenery and dynamically managed precedence was employed to handle the spatialization and vocal localization for the main stage. Furthermore a 32-channel surround system together with the 53 channel frontal system were driven by an active acoustics system to make the performance as natural and realistic as possible for soloists, choir and orchestra.
To cater for the extreme geometry of the stage, the positions of all actors were obtained with a tracking systems and fed through OSC to the active acoustics system. All reflections were interpolated in real-time to the actual positions of the singers.
This presentation gives an insight in the technical setup and the special requirements for this large-scale open air opera event.