Travelling outside Paris for the first time since it debuted in 2006, this successful production by StadeFrance Live Events required a high level of international cooperation between its French producers and Australian logistics teams. All audio technical management was in the hands of GL Events Audiovisual, and a team headed up by Fred Viricel, the technical director of sound.
In the world's biggest theatrical space, audio distribution was planned and achieved over an EtherSound network, using Ethernet and optical links. The system, designed by J.Lyonnet, used L'Acoustics cabinets, with amplifiers connected to EtherSound via a Digigram ES8out, with Yamaha stageboxes and consoles.
"The main advantages of using EtherSound as the audio transmission link were routing flexibility and system reliability," explains GL Events' network engineer Philippe Mourdon, who supervised 220 L'Acoustic cabinets in 32 x line-array clusters in a highly robust star architecture, brought in for the occasion and enabled by two AuviTran AVM500-ES matrixes.
The AVM500-ES is a network matrix, providing routing of 320x 320 digital 48kHz 24-bit audio channels. It has numerous features which enable users to construct really robust safe systems, for example a built-in redundant auxiliary power supply input, remote installation monitor and control, and the option to use multiple units ringed together using their A Ports to create a redundant ring of EtherSound networks.
"AuviTran devices gave our system an outstanding level of routing flexibility, coupled with full redundancy, which is vital for a production of this size with so much live action," continues Philippe Mourdon, who also compliments the AuviTran team "which provided impressive support in France and for the show in Australia."
StadeFrance Live Events is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Consortium Stade de France. Its core business is creating, producing and delivering premium live events for stadia as well as providing comprehensive support including programming and strategy consulting services. The Ben-Hur Stadium Spectacular was brought to Sydney under a five-year agreement between StadeFrance Live Events and ANZ Stadium.
(Jim Evans)
