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K-array provides loudspeaker solutions for the Royal Opera House

2022

K-array provides loudspeaker solutions for the Royal Opera House

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The Royal Opera House was built in 1732 and is located in Covent Garden, London, England. After hundreds of years of ups and downs, it has always been the temple of international opera art. In addition to opera performances, it is also a venue for ballet and orchestral music.

Today, the Royal Opera House is also home to its affiliated opera and ballet companies, and has maintained good exchange activities with China in recent years. He has traveled to Shanghai to perform classics such as "Romeo and Juliet", "La Traviata" and "Madame Butterfly". In 2004, Chinese tenor Dai Yuqiang made his debut on the stage of the Royal Opera House in the United Kingdom, playing the leading role in Puccini's three-act opera "Tosca".

With the changes of the times, the traditional opera house has gradually become a comprehensive activity center with the theme of classical music and art, and has begun to accept more diversified artistic performances and commercial activities. The Royal Opera House has also hosted the BAFTA Awards since 2008 and the The Olivier Awards in 2012.

In the face of the change in the variety of forms of use, the opera house commissioned Stage Electrics to provide a high-quality and reliable sound system solution - "as hidden as possible, without damaging the original theater structure, while meeting the needs of music and events; Of course, it is necessary to have a consistent listening experience for more than 2,000 audiences in all directions. ”

The ancient and ornate Royal Opera House is designed in a traditional hall building, with the audience area consisting of a stepped seating in front of the stage and a multi-storey wrap-around grandstand, with a curved dome at the top of the ceiling. This means that the sound coverage of the loudspeaker system must take into account the uniformity of the large auditorium in the horizontal and vertical planes, while avoiding the sound focus problems caused by the dome.

Confused by the multitude of loudspeaker models, the K-array dealer in the UK invited Stage Electric to examine an old-fashioned theater in Italy. The sound reinforcement system composed of pure array columns perfectly solves the difficulties in sound coverage and directivity control of the hall. This opened the door to a new understanding of the loudspeaker system and the beginning of a revolutionary design for the Royal Opera House's sound reinforcement system.

Finally, after passing K-array K-framework 3D software simulation and practical testing, the Opera House selected the KP102 I as the main expander loudspeaker model. Form an extra-long pure array setup by placing 8 KP102 I's on each side of the stage.

Overlay simulation of an array of 8 KP102 I's on one side

It is not difficult to see from the simulation renderings that the acoustic characteristics produced by the cascading arrays achieve uniform coverage over long distances. At the same time, the characteristics of the pure array pointing angle are also perfectly adapted to the needs of the on-site hall --- The horizontal 110° coverage can take care of the longitudinal stands on both sides as much as possible, and the ultra-narrow vertical pointing effectively avoids the sound going to the dome, resulting in unnecessary acoustic problems.