sydney opera house performance euphonix sound

sydney opera house:

Sydney Opera House is Australia’s leading performing arts centre, attracting over 4 million visitors a year to engage in a range of cultural events and customer experiences. With six operating venues including the Concert Hall, Opera Theatre, Drama Theatre, Playhouse, Utzon Room and The Studio, this iconic landmark is Australia’s pre-eminent showcase for performing arts and culture as well as an international leader in the presentation and development of artists and their work.

Norman Gillespie Chief Executive Sydney Opera House

Our audio team at Sydney Opera House is recognised as a world leader in concert and theatre production. Their level of skill and dedication have now been matched with digital audio facilities that have enhanced the calibre of our performances and enabled us to deliver an even better experience to our patrons. We look forward to engaging with our artists and audiences via new media and through the broadcast of educational, interactive and commercial content which may be produced from any of our theatres or performance venues. Thanks to our partnership with Euphonix, our audio infrastructure has given us the flexibility to respond to our continually growing business and customer requirements.

a sound future:

With a broad range of audiences to inspire and entertain, Sydney Opera House aims to make every experience world class. The technical foundation we now have in place will enable this in terms of recorded, broadcast and multimedia works. In the Concert Hall and Opera Theatre, audiences are now experiencing a quality of audio that was not previously thought possible. This is thanks to the Euphonix audio console,

Meyer loudspeaker systems and Lake speaker controllers operated via wireless tablet PC that enable sound engineers to move about the auditorium to perform adjustments to the audio. With the inclusion of a Euphonix console in the new Recording Studio and another in the Drama Theatre this whole-of-house solution operating off the fibre optic network allows for many technical and creative possibilities. We are now seriously connected.

David Claringbold

Technical Operations Manager, Sound and Audio Visual [email protected]

opera theatre:

The Opera Theatre is the second largest venue at Sydney Opera House seating 1,547 people and can accommodate up to 70 musicians. This venue is in constant use as a performance space for opera, ballet and contemporary dance. It is the major Sydney performance base for Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet and Sydney Dance Company.

TECH SPECS: EUPHONIX SYSTEM 5 DIGITAL 40 FADERS, 106 CHANNELS, 48 GROUPS, 24 AUX, 32 MIX BUSS. ATC 20 A MONITORS AKAI DD1000 TC M2000 JBL HLA NEUMANN DPA SHURE

A critical requirement for us is the rapid reconfiguration and storage of pre-sets to restage productions possibly weeks or even months apart. The Euphonix console allows hundreds of pre-set shows to be recalled at the touch of a button. Utilising the System 5’s Remote Mixing capabilities has also become an irreplaceable part of the way we work. It allows much closer communication with the creative staff and performers.

Severin Sieben Sound Supervisor Opera Theatre

The Concert Hall is the largest interior venue at Sydney Opera House. Sydney Symphony, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra are regular presenters in the venue. In addition to these companies, Sydney Opera House also produces and co-presents a variety of contemporary musical performances by artists such as Dionne Warwick, Harry Connick Jnr and kd lang.

concert hall:

TECH SPECS: EUPHONIX SYSTEM 5 DIGITAL 32 FADERS, 96 CHANNELS, 24 GROUPS, 24 MIX BUSES, 16 AUX ATC 20 A MONITORING PYRAMIX HARD DISK RECORDER MEYER SOUND LINE ARRAY LAKE CONTOUR PROCESSORS TC AND LEXICON NEUMANN, DPA, SHURE

Bruce “Bunny” Cook Sound Supervisor Concert Hall

The System 5 easily allows us to meet the challenges of all the diverse performances staged in the Concert Hall. Whether they demand recording, live PA, or broadcast, we are able to configure the one console for all needs. Sonically the console is superb, allowing us to ensure that the dynamics, texture, and transparency of the music are preserved, no matter how detailed the program.

recording studio:

The Recording Studio completes the audio picture. At last performing companies and visiting artists can record the magic of their performances within this world class facility. Whether it is from the Concert Hall, Utzon Room or outside on the Forecourt we have the ability to capture and post produce every performance to the highest standards. Tony David Cray Recording and Multimedia Producer [email protected]

The new Recording Studio will be able to record live performances from any of the six Sydney Opera House venues.

TECH SPECS:

It can produce the highest quality sound for DVD and CD recordings ranging from opera and symphony to contemporary music. It will also assist in the production of audio and visual content for performance, promotion, simulcast and education.

16 MIX BUSS, 16 AUX

EUPHONIX SYSTEM 5 DIGITAL 56 FADERS, 156 CHANNELS, 48 GROUPS, ATC SCM50A CUSTOM 5.1 MONITORING SYSTEM ATC SCM20A NEARFIELD MONITORING PROTOOLS HD3 ACCEL GENEX 9048 WITH DSD, PYRAMIX WITH V-CUBE LEXICON 960L, TC M5000 NEVE, AVALON, UNIVERSAL AUDIO, FOCUSRITE, NEUMANN, AKG, DPA

drama theatre:

The Drama Theatre is a medium sized theatre which seats 544 and is one of the homes of major presenting partner Sydney Theatre Company. It is also in high demand for a wide variety of other performances from dance to musical theatre. TECH SPECS: EUPHONIX MAX AIR DIGITAL 40 FADERS, 96 CHANNELS, 24 AUXILIARIES, 24 GROUPS, 20 MIX BUSS ATC 20A MONITORS TC SYSTEM 6000 LCS MATRIX 3 WILDTRACKS CROWN IQ TANNOY S300 AND B950

Colin Budd

Sound Supervisor Drama Theatre

Having a console linked to a hard disk replay system that is fully digital and recallable means that in three minutes we can go from the show we were doing last night to the show we are doing now. That level of complexity and recall ability is critical and the impact of that is huge. We are now able to take on the most intricate sound designs and bring another dimension to the theatrical experience.

All major venues are permanently connected to the Central Control Room (CCR), while outdoor venues such as the Forecourt and specialised venues such as the Utzon Room, Playhouse and Studio can now be linked into the digital network with ease to send and receive audio visual content via the CCR. A set of mobile acquisition racks completes the picture and provides a direct fibre optic link to the recording studio from any venue or room.

central control room: TECH SPECS: EUPHONIX MADI ROUTER EUPHONIX MADI FIBRE CONVERTERS HOUSE DIGITAL CLOCK MEDIA MATRIX CROWN IQ

Concert Hall

Opera Theatre

Drama Theatre

Central Control Room

Playhouse

Forecourt

Utzon Room

The Studio

Recording Studio

Sydney Opera House Fibre Network Links all venues for sharing audio and recording performances

The CCR is the heart and soul of all audio, communications and video distribution for the house. Linking all the venues via fibre optics allows us infinite possibilities in expanding these services to our clients.

Steve LeRoux

Technical Manager Communications & Audio Visual Systems

Special thanks to: Euphonix and Technical Audio Group

euphonix.com sydneyoperahouse.com

Photography by Adam Craven Cover Photography by Jim Rolon 180˚ Panorama Photography by Tony David Cray and Gavin Pawsey Art Direction & Design by Ben Goss

sydneyoperahouse.com euphonix.com