The Ronacher Theater is one of most picturesque and notable landmarks in Vienna's central district, Innere Stadt. Opened in 1888 as Etablissement Ronacher, it boasts a long and storied history spanning music, drama and more. The Ronacher is now one of three major theaters hosting large-scale musicals staged by music production company Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (United Stages Vienna), and recently underwent a major renovation that included a new state-of-the-art Meyer Sound system.
The Ronacher reopened this summer, hosting the premiere of the German-language version of Mel Brooks's famed The Producers. Based on his success with the Viennese productions of Elisabeth and Jekyll and Hyde, veteran sound designer Erich Dorfinger and his company, Vienna-based Sound Art Service Tontechnik GmbH, were enlisted to design and install the new audio system.
"The biggest challenge was to achieve consistent coverage and high intelligibility under the Ronacher's very awkward construction and acoustical conditions," says Dorfinger.
With its highly precise directional control and celebrated sonic signature, the M'elodie line array loudspeaker was chosen to headline the installed system, which comprises a main center hang of eight M'elodie cabinets and two side arrays of four M1D line array loudspeakers each. Six UPA-1P and four UPA-2P loudspeakers cover outfill duties, with 16 MM-4 loudspeakers handling frontfill and delays. Low end is handled by four USW-1P and two 650-P subwoofers, with a number of UPA-1P, UPA-2P, UPM-1P, and UPM-2P loudspeakers covering delays, fills, and stage monitoring.
"We have used Meyer Sound products in a number of other difficult projects and we're confident they would be the best solution for the Ronacher as well," adds Dorfinger. "I am particularly enthusiastic about the MM-4s for frontfill and delays for the loges. Meyer Sound products are our best tools for achieving natural-sounding vocals and high intelligibility."
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