The ROH's Martin Adams turned to Paul Nicholson of Red Square Audio to specify a PA system for the show. Following a detailed sound assessment of the venue, Nicholson finally opted for an APG Beam Series system with an Innovason Eclipse console for FoH, monitors and recording.
"The brief was very straightforward," says Nicholson. "It was for a traditional three-piece Hungarian folk band using flutes, zither, bagpipes, saxophone, lute, tambourine, and of course vocals. However, the Hamlyn Hall has always presented difficult and challenging acoustic problems due to the very high reverberation characteristics of the room. Essentially it's a huge conservatory, and all the surfaces are either glass or mirrors! On top of all that, there is a glass-fronted balcony running all the way round the room. The reflections inevitably lead to a confused sound image so, to combat these conditions, we needed a very special FoH system."
Nicholson looked to French loudspeaker manufacturers APG for a solution, and after careful consideration, selected the full range 'single-box' 3000C Beam system. With an upward dispersion of just 5º and 20º downwards with 60º in the horizontal plane, Nicholson utilised two cabinets on each side of the stage.
"The results were truly excellent," says Nicholson. "There was no need to gap the cabinets as they are seamless when used in multiples, and given the type of show we didn't require subs either as the 3000Cs are full range. The overall bloom of the room was dramatically reduced which enabled me to achieve a high degree of mix separation and clarity." Nicholson also used the new APG DX12 and DX15 stage monitors and a pair of APG MX1 lip fills and the entire system was managed using APG proprietary controllers.
"This is the first time that APG systems were used exclusively at a UK show," notes Nicholson. "From my point of view, it couldn't have gone better - we made a notoriously difficult room sound better than it had ever done before, and what's more it was at the Royal Opera House - and you don't get a much more prestigious address than that."
(Jim Evans)
