Architect Jørn Utzon envisaged an approach to the Sydney Opera House to be "…. a succession of visual and audio stimuli which increase in intensity as you approach the building, as you enter and finally sit down in the halls, culminating with the performance."

The timing of a raft of infrastructure improvements, in line with Utzon's vision, coincides with a major technical upgrade to equip the Sydney Opera House for both current demands and the new media demands of the future.

As Sound and AV Co-ordinator at the Sydney Opera House, David Claringbold is the man entrusted with keeping the audio systems one step ahead of demand. "We stand between the performers and the audience the 'House' is trying to reach. There is a very conscious move to bring a wider range of people into the Sydney Opera House, to experience it, be touched by it and enriched by it and we are now laying the technical foundation to achieve this in terms of recorded, broadcast and multimedia works."

"In specific terms the audio infrastructure we are putting in place will give us the capability not only to handle the performances in any of the five venues, each with their increasing complexity and demand for processing, but also be linkable as one complete system both venue to venue and of course to the recording studio."

The first piece of the puzzle was announced in January 2002 when a Euphonix System 5 was purchased for use in the Opera Theatre. David and his team addressed the Opera Theatre first as the needs of that venue were the most acute. The System 5 replaced an eleven-year-old console that had been struggling to keep up for some time. With more than 2,300 indoor and outdoor performance events a year and up to six performances and rehearsals each day in the Opera Theatre alone, one of the most critical requirements was for rapid reconfiguration and storage of pre sets to restage productions possibly weeks or months apart.

The System 5 was installed in April 2002. "It was the one that answered all the questions - it's a chameleon; you can configure it to do whatever you want," explained David. "What we've now installed is some very elegant hardware with enormous processing capabilities, but it is the software that really makes the difference and keeps the whole thing future-proof. The software keeps the hardware current - in effect we don't have to crystal ball where the new distribution medias are taking us we only need to know that we've got the hardware to do it and that the software will be available when we need it."

The Sydney Opera House and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei are the first two performance venues in the world to take delivery of a System 5. The console has already been enormously successful in the broadcast, film and music recording sectors with over 100 units sold since its introduction in late 1999. Being first is part of the vision to take a bigger role in the creative production process and it's a clear message to everyone from the Sydney Opera House patron to visitors from other performance venues around the world that 'The Sydney Opera House places the highest priority on sound quality'.

Severin Sieben the Opera Theatre Sound Supervisor is the man whose hands spend the most time on the System 5, "It's exceeding all our expectations. Because the opera works in reparatory there are rehearsals every morning and different shows going on every night, up to six every week. Previously we actually had to write down in great detail the position of every knob, switch and fader and then manually reset the entire console. With the System 5 we can store set ups and then flick between shows, scenes, recall old shows etc all with the greatest of ease. It means we can guarantee a client that the same thing is going to happen at every show and that nothing will go wrong."

"We've spent lots of time exploring the automation and machine control options so that during a show we can integrate our playback for sound effects and recorded music for dance shows. Being able to operate playback machines from the desk means that everything is set up so you can just sit at the console and hit a button. That's another thing that will make life a lot easier."

One exciting bonus of System 5 is its modular hot swap construction which as a by-product enables the whole master section to be lifted out, a 85x30x35cm core, complete with TFT screen, faders and assignable 'Super Channel.' "With a roll of Ethernet cable and a power cord we can literally sit anywhere in the venue and mix the show!" explained Severin. "So now we're sitting in the stalls with the producer and his creative and technical staff with the master section right in front and we're making adjustments according to their comments and instructions. We're all hearing the same thing, it's easy and immediate and it just makes perfect sense. It's obvious that that alone has made an enormous impact and made the set-up process so much simpler. When we're done we slot it back into the desk to run the show and everyone knows that each preset is correct."

The Sydney Dance Company's production of Graeme Murphy's Ellipse was the first show in the Opera Theatre to benefit from the System 5. Audio operator Adam Luston, the Sydney Dance Company's man behind the controls, explained 'Having used digital consoles for live performances for many years I am very used to their flexibility and their capabilities, but even from a straight mixing and show set-up perspective the finesse of the System 5's equalisation, it's fine tuning and the way it allows me to assign the hundreds of individual controls to work the way I work is magnificent.'

'I'm already convinced and I can't wait for our next Sydney Opera House production. The Opera Theatre is a great room for sound reinforcement, next time I'm planning to take the master section into the stalls and not only plan and prepare the show from there but to stay and mix the actual show from the stalls as well.'

Judith Isherwood, Director, Performing Arts at the Sydney Opera House commented "On an operational level, the System 5 is already making a very real difference to how we work and what we can do - we're already working more closely with our performing arts partners, increasing the level of interactivity and improving response time."

About the Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is Australia's leading performing arts centre, attracting over 4.5 million visitors a year to engage in its range of cultural events and customer experiences. With five operating venues including Concert Hall, Opera Theatre, Drama Theatre, Playhouse and The Studio - plus an outdoor venue, The Forecourt, the Sydney Opera House has built up a solid reputation for its creative and cultural presentations, which includes recently being awarded the highly coveted Australian Arts Industry Helpmann Awards for its 2001 productions of "Buena Vista Social Club" on the Forecourt, and cabaret performances of "Capsis vs Capsis" by Paul Capsis in The Studio.

About the Opera Theatre

The second largest venue at the Sydney Opera House is the Opera Theatre, seating 1,547 people. It is in almost constant use as a performance space for opera, ballet and contemporary dance. It is the major Sydney performance base for Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet and the Sydney Dance Company. The first official performance at the Sydney Opera House was held in the Opera Theatre on 28 September 1973. It was Prokofiev's opera "War and Peace" directed by Sam Wanamaker, who later became the driving force behind the recreation of London's Globe Theatre. In 1995, the theatre saw the world premiere of "The Eighth Wonder" by Alan John and Dennis Watkins, an opera based on the drama associated with the construction of what many argue is the 'eighth wonder of the world,' the Sydney Opera House. It was commissioned with funding assistance from the Sydney Opera House. The Opera Theatre was used throughout the "Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival" by Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet.

above - L to R: Severin Seiben (Opera Theatre Sound Supervisor) with System 5 modules operating remotely out in the auditorium during rehearsal. Neil McGarry (Opera Theatre Team Leader) on the laptop.

L to R: Lana Lazareff (Audio Operator), David Claringbold (Sound and AV Co-ordinator), David Turnbull (Audio Operator), Severin Seiben (Opera Theatre Sound Supervisor), Neil McGarry (Opera Theatre Team Leader).