More than 400,000 spectators recently converged on the Eiffel Tower in Paris for a Bastille Day celebration, with the systems (live and broadcast) incorporating dual Lawo mc²36 mixing consoles – one handling the orchestra, and the other dedicated to the choirs and opera singers.
The consoles were accompanied by two Lawo DALLIS I/O systems as stage boxes, with the components linked via RAVENNA to Lawo’s latest router, the Nova37.
The program opened and closed with the same pieces – “The Damnation of Faust” by French composer Hector Berlioz and the French National Anthem – performed by 250 musicians of the National Orchestra of France and the Radio France Choir. Also presented were pieces by French composers Bizet, Ravel and Saint-Saëns, as well as Mozart, Verdi and Beethoven.
The system also included a Yamaha DM1000 console, connected via MADI, for PA announcements and pre-recorded music that accompanied the event’s closing firework display. The system’s backbone provided convenient networking and sharing of all resources and buses between all of the consoles. On stage, another 40-fader mc²36 mixing console was also connected to the Nova37 via a RAVENNA to handle performers’ monitoring.
“A 24-fader mc²36 was set up for mixing the choirs and opera singers and there was a 40-fader desk for the orchestra. Both Lawo consoles plus the Yamaha console, all of the DALLIS I/O, and the audio recorders were connected to our new plug-and-play Nova router,” explains Hervé de Caro, Lawo live sound specialist. “The mc²36 features a very intuitive configuration page for setting up and managing the rights within the network, controlling the preamps and feeding the different outputs and recorders.”
The Nova37 connects consoles and I/O systems via RAVENNA/AES67 or MADI via up to 1 536 x 1 536 crosspoints. Its plug-and-play operation means that an audio network can be operational in moments and and run silently due to noiseless cooling fans. Network user rights are managed directly from the console’s touch screen using Lawo’s one-touch rights management system. Standard network presets are immediately available, but the router configuration can be tailored to a specific application’s requirements. Eight RAVENNA/AES67 ports (RJ45 or optical via SFP) and eight MADI ports (optical via SFP) providing extensive connectivity.
“The Nova37 was configured to provide up to 32 buses exchanged between consoles, so the premix of the choirs, the ‘spare’ mix from the OB van and the presenter console were assigned directly from the mc²36 consoles,”de Caro notes. “In combination with the mc²Compact I/O and mc²36, the Nova37 is a very smart package. You connect your consoles and I/O systems via RAVENNA/AES67 or MADI, and the audio network is up and running with immediate access to all sources.”
