The facility was built around a former nightclub in the Hotel City at Fredrikstad, Norway. To facilitate live performances a stage was added in an earlier atrium. City Scene's capacity (in theatre mode) is 448 persons; 330 on the main floor and 118 on the mezzanine developed around the old dance floor.
City Scene has already played host to a diverse range of performances including, Cityfjolls til Fjells (a comedy theatre production), Olsenbanden Jr. på Cirkus (musical theatre with a circus theme), a concert by one of Norway's most famous acts, Wig Wam (Norway's Eurovision contestants in 2005), and the poignant John Lennon, a life (the musical story of John Lennon). Rob Mæhre (sound engineer for Wig Wam) on his first visit to City Scene commented: "This is great! So loud and clear, and I can't see a single speaker!" The designers chose a 'Left - Centre - Right' arrangement with six extra delay zones. C Series amplifiers power all loudspeakers. Two Lab.gruppen C Series C 68:4s and four C 48:4s are used in the system with an extra unit available for backup.
The flexible C Series comprises four models; C 16:4 (4 x 300W/400W at 4/8 ohms), C 28:4 (4 x 600W/700W at 4/8 ohms), C 48:4 (4 x 1200W/1000W at 4/8 ohms) and the "flagship" C 68:4. C 68:4 delivers 6800 watts at 4 ohms, split into four channels with 1700 watts each or 1600 watts into a 70/100V constant voltage load.
The main speaker system is comprised of six Kling & Freitag Line 212-9 and is orientated stage left and right with coverage focused both above and below the mezzanine. A centre cluster of two Line 212-9 provides cover for the mezzanine and the seating area near the dance floor. Two Kling & Freitag CA106s are used for front fill and three Kling & Freitag CA 1001s cover peripheral areas outside the coverage pattern of the main L/R system.
Gusty Utterdal, artistic director of City Scene says: "The response from the audience on all our shows so far has been very good and the sound is always pointed out as truly excellent."
(Chris Henry)
