The harbor-side Playhouse, which has been designed by Danish architects Boje Lundgaard and Lene Tranberg, commands a prime location opposite the Royal Opera, also a customer of Studer's Vista technology. The Playhouse is the new home for the Royal Danish Theatre, and has three discrete performance spaces. The Main Stage seats 750 theatre-goers and its horseshoe-shaped galleries are inspired by northern Italian renaissance theatre. The secondary stage, seating 250, is named Portscenen (or 'The Gate Stage'), reflecting the fact that the large, gate-like doors in the northern wall can be opened to draw the stage out onto the quay. Thirdly, an intimate Studio Stage can seat audiences of up to approx 100.
For the smaller Gate Stage, Studer's distributor Kinovox has supplied a 32-fader Vista 5 with 60 inputs, and the Main Stage has been equipped with a 42-fader desk, complete with 60 analogue inputs and 48 analogue outputs in addition to 96 AES digital ins and outs plus three sets of 64-channel MADI I/O.
Using inputs gathered from stage via a TTA Stagetracker performer tracking system, the Studer Vista 5 routes all the microphone and playback sources via AES3 to a 16-in / 32-out Outboard Electronics TiMax Audio Imaging processor to provide the required delay matrixing which is central to the localisation of amplified voices around the stage or surround effects in the auditorium.
Det Kongelige Teater's identity as a repertory theatre means that there can be as many as three sets on stage in a 24-hour period, so there was an absolute requirement for the Total Recall facilities of a digital desk. Having established that criteria, the competitive tender process appropriate to a state institution was won by Studer.
The Vista 5's success in the tender is attributed in part to its Vistonics interface. "We were very interested in the Vistonics concept which is outstanding," says Karsten Wolstad, who, together with Jonas Vest, is responsible for the theatre's sound design. "We have several different engineers coming through our doors, but this operating platform is appealing for everyday use by our regular team as well."
Wolstad also points out "that it is very convenient for us to have the same work surface in both our theatres, as well as in the Royal Opera House. We have a close relationship with the Opera, and can exchange equipment if necessary."
(Jim Evans)
