The free-of-charge classical music event was supported by Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit, and was attended by German President Horst Köhler, who said, "Opera For All opens up opera to wide parts of the society. Opera must not only be high culture for the well-heeled, it is there for everyone."
The planning and supervision for Opera For All were handled by Marcus Mechelhoff of Berlin-based agency Mediapool. Audio needs were specified by Til Schwartz and Ivo König from IT-Audio, also of Berlin. The POOLgroup from Emsdetten, Germany supplied and operated all sound, lighting, and video equipment, with the audio portion supervised by Joachim Birner.
System design comprised left-right arrays of 12 weather-protected Milo loudspeakers each and two delay arrays of eight Milo loudspeakers each. Six M'elodie line array loudspeakers and six UPQ-1P loudspeakers served as front-fill and side-fill systems, and low frequencies were covered by eight 700-HP subwoofers.
Despite slight rains during the event, both shows went smoothly with the weather protection of Meyer Sound loudspeakers. Albrecht Krieger, the opera's sound engineer who mixed both outdoor events reported very positive feedback from the audience, while German daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel wrote: "The first notes of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture were almost whispering, but with these speakers, the quiet moments of the 5th Symphony and Barenboim's interpretation of Tchaikovsky were really coming true-to-detail."
The Staatsoper unter den Linden complex was commissioned in the 18th century by Prussian King Frederick II. It houses the prominent opera company, which performs a variety of romantic-era and modern opera, as well as premieres of contemporary compositions. The Staatsoper unter den Linden complex will begin a major renovation project in 2010.
(Jim Evans)
