This year’s edition of the annual Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Tuscany, Italy, staged at the Gran Teatro all’Aperto Giacomo Puccini in presenting open-air opera performances for 40,000 attendees each year, was supported with a sound design by Italy-based BH audio combining a Lawo mc²36 console and d&b Soundscape immersive technology.
In 2020, the pandemic affected every part of public life, and the Puccini Festival was no exception. Traditionally performed without amplification, distancing requirements meant that the orchestra strength had to be reduced. This, in turn, meant that the remaining musicians were unable to sonically fill the auditorium, so, for the first time, sound reinforcement was implemented under the direction of maestro Giorgio Battistelli, the festival’s artistic director.
The open-air stage and auditorium in Torre del Lago don’t accommodate suspended loudspeakers, so BH audio chief sound engineer Massimo Carli used 98 speakers on 62 Soundscape outputs closely positioned behind the audience. “This loudspeaker arrangement, combined with our Lawo mc²36 console and the d&b DS100 processors, delivers a pleasing natural sound experience for the entire audience, no matter where they are seated,” Carli says.
“The mc²36 MKII console with its A__UHD Core technology gives me access to 256 processing channels, available at both 48 and 96 kHz, and can manage an I/O capacity of 864 channels,” he explains. “Thanks to its native IP technology, the Lawo console offers impressive capabilities and flexibility. We’re very pleased with the result – and most importantly, so are the festival attendees!”
