Rich in tradition, the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (State Theater at the Gärtner Square in Munich, Germany) has experienced a number of renovations, restorations and technical re-equipments in its eventful 165-year history, most recently opting for IP audio technology from Lawo and producing its new season largely on the basis of an AoIP infrastructure.
The central elements of the new setup at Gärtnerplatztheater are two Lawo mc²56 audio production consoles with a A__UHD core engine. I/O connectivity is provided via several A__line AoIP nodes, in addition to Lawo DALLIS devices already in place in-house. Bavarian system integrator Digitech acted as general contractor for the design, implementation and integration of the new technology in a project completed in September, 2021.
The State Theater has been familiar with Lawo for several years — in 2007, two mc²66 digital mixing consoles were installed in the auditorium and sound control room for use in sound reinforcement and to record musical, ballet, operetta and opera productions. Those earlier mixers have now been replaced by two mc²56 (MKIII) consoles, each with 48 faders and an A__UHD Core engine. A software upgrade to A__UHD Core (Phase 2), to facilitate further IP infrastructure expansion, is planned for the 2022 season.
The existing DALLIS I/O systems are integrated into the network via a Nova73 HD router core, with additional connectivity via WAN-capable A__stage AoIP nodes. This approach permits the continued use of existing technology within new workflows, enabling a gradual transition to a comprehensive IP infrastructure. The entire system was implemented as a redundant network to ensure security.
Dirk Buttgereit, head of the theater’s sound department, says, “We opted for a combination of existing equipment and new hardware and software, a perfect solution because the existing hardware, especially the analog/digital conversion systems, are still in impeccable condition, work reliably and can be integrated seamlessly with the new Lawo systems that will bring the sound in the theater up to the state of the art.
“This first step already allows us to take advantage of an IP infrastructure and apply new features and workflows, with theater-specific features such as cue lists, iso sets, fade sets, and DSP pooling via the A__UHD core. In the coming years we will switch completely to IP technology. In our case, this smooth transition will only succeed with Lawo.”
