Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House

The opera theatre in the Sydney Opera House had to face severe challenges already since it’s opening in 1973 due to some difficult decisions during the construction phase. The orchestra pit is covered by 2/3 and the sound of the hall has been much less live than you visually would expect. Together with my colleague Jürgen Reinhold and Brad Maiden from Saber we examined various plans to improve the situation and found that the only reasonable way was to structurally maximise the volume of the pit and support the covered instruments with a 3D audio system. Following was an extensive process with a test installation for various opera and ballet productions as well as a separate competition for the 3D audio system. Everything culminated into a very intense 9-month construction phase and a brilliant opening at New Year’s Eve 2017. While saving the last changes of the Vivace system I nearly missed watching the famous fireworks around the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the balcony of the Opera House. Thank you, Royce and Tod, for reminding me!

Consultancy on behalf of Müller-BBM