
Storms and Salvation Brought to Life by DiGiCo's SD12 for The Flying Dutchman Opera posted: 30/11/2020
This August saw a magnificent production of The Flying Dutchman, Richard Wagner's fifth masterpiece, brought to Lithuanian opera fans for the very first time. Staged in a unique open-air setting by the Klaip da State Musical Theatre and featuring leading Lithuanian soloists including Sandra Janu ait , the event became one of the most celebrated musical productions of the year, selling out all of its socially distanced 1,000 seats to lucky spectators. Dual DiGiCo SD12 96-channel consoles with two SD-Racks and D2-Racks were selected by one of the largest audio rental companies in the Baltics, NGR Service, to bring the magic of this one-act opera to life.
Fitting its original theme, the opera production took place on the slipway of Paul Willy Lindenau shipyard complex in Klaip da, with its colossal structures and hoists, as well as frequently changing weather conditions, presenting the NGR team with some major challenges right from the start.
The setting in the historic cruise ship terminal made for a unique and spectacular location, but it also meant dealing with rain and winds of up to 20 m/s whilst thinking of how to make the orchestra and soloists sound as natural as possible, as this would be staged in an acoustic concert hall, reminisces NGR's FOH Engineer, Tomas danovi ius. On top of the weather challenge, we also had to deal with constantly moving actors across a 50-metre stage, or even outside the stage at time, as well as special effects such as falling water and a real-life ship appearing during the performance. There were definitely one or two firsts' for us in this production.
In order to deal with such a challenging odyssey, NGR chose the DiGiCo SD12 console, which offered their team the ease of operation, fast function selection, and without doubt, the best sound of any console currently on the market, adds danovi ius.
Deploying their best technical minds and top-quality sound equipment on the site allowed the team to fully realise the creative production ideas of Concept and Artistic Director, Dalius Abaris.
When it came to sound, it seemed that everything was against the NGR team, says Abaris. On location, the sound engineers repeatedly analyzed and evaluated wind speeds as well as rigging positions of the sound system depending on where the audience would sit, which would sometimes change on a daily basis due to the latest COVID restrictions. One day we had one ground floor layout, the next day another.
Impressed by the professionalism the NGR team showed in the face of such adversities, Abaris explains how the team worked relentlessly to ensure they could transmit every sound to each member of the audience.
Another complexity was, of course, the stage size, he adds. This was a big challenge, not just for the sound team but also for the performers. When people are separated by over 40-metres distance, the monitoring systems visibility and relationship with the conductor all have to be watertight, so to speak, not to mention the main PA and the delay systems.
NGR deployed two SD12 consoles, with the main one serving the soloists, orchestra, and special effects and submixer return groups; the other was used as a submixer for the choir's 48 personal headsets. In total, between two consoles, 146 channels were utilized, not including FX returns.
The scale of this production was just immense, and I didn't hear a single artist saying that they felt uncomfortable singing, which is a major credit to the teams abilities, shares Abaris. The installation of the sound equipment was a long process, as the team had to rig the system on an over-a-century-old shipyard construction. They had to measure everything very precisely before putting up the three main PA clusters and the delay lines. The panning of the soloists was so accurate that the audience's attention was focused on where the sound was coming from. It was definitely a feat to behold.
The entire set-up included 70 wireless systems for the opera performers with omni-directional headsets, and a further 50 systems for the orchestra with clip-on lavalier mics and more. DiGiCo's SD12 became invaluable when dealing with the soloists, who were in seven fixed positions across the stage, which was configured in layers' of around 50 metres in width.
This was all dealt with by having pre-programmed panoramas in different Snapshots, with manual pan movements as necessary, explains danovi ius. The audio material for the entire show was recorded in multitrack and having the ability to expand the console with DMI cards was very convenient.
Speaking about the functions on the SD12 that were particularly useful in this complex production, danovi ius notes the importance of the ergonomics of the console, as well the easy accessibility of the worksurface, which helped him react fast. Additionally, it was useful to be able to arrange the layout of the console in any way needed, as well as having all necessary channels next to each other - independently of the input list positions. Finally, having two separate touch sensitive screens made my work as fluid as it can ever be, he adds.
Broadcast live on Lithuanian national television, LRT (Lietuvos radijas ir televizija), Wagner's operatic feast passed with flying colours and was met with standing ovations by the fascinated audience.
This was probably the first opera in Lithuania where there was no criticism from musicologists, critics or sound professionals - certainly that Im aware of - so it was a complete success all the way, states Abaris proudly.
Working with the best orchestra and leading soloists of Lithuania requires the best sound quality, because everyone, from production directors to choir members, k
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
16/09/2025
SVG All-Stars: Leigh Michaud, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe UConn grad rose from ESPN's mailroom to become one of its most valuable ops leadersBy Bran...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Friday's Latest From Halls 1-4, Outdoor Exhibits in Amst...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Saturday's Latest From Halls 5-7 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Friday, September 12, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and ...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Sunday's Latest From Halls 8-10 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Monday's Latest From Halls 11-14 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and ...
16/09/2025
Amazon Prime Video Picks Up Four Hours of Early-Round Masters Coverage in 2026By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - 10:15 a...
16/09/2025
VERSANT Inks Deal for League One Volleyball as Women's Sports Rights Slate G...
16/09/2025
ESPN VP, Corporate Communications, Katina Arnold Named SVP, Disney Advertising C...
16/09/2025
IBC 2025 in Review: SVG Europe's Full Collection of Video Interviews From th...
16/09/2025
Hace una d cada, la m sica latina representaba apenas el 8% de las reproducciones globales en Spotify. Hoy, constituye m s de una cuarta parte (27%) de toda la ...
16/09/2025
A decade ago, Latin music made up just 8% of global Spotify streams. Today, it a...
16/09/2025
Spotify is expanding our video lineup with a new partnership with Zoo 55, part of ITV Studios. For the first time, acclaimed content from ITV Studios is landing...
16/09/2025
At DSEI 2025, James Dunne of L3Harris Maritime UK chaired a panel on aligning the supply chain to the warfighter, where leaders discussed modernising support fo...
16/09/2025
Calrec has strengthened its collaboration with audio metering expert RTW by integrating RTW's new TMxCore metering platform across its full range of Argo IP...
16/09/2025
College Football Scores Top Telecast in August with 16M+ Viewers on FOX, Followe...
16/09/2025
Collaboration marks the first SSP integration of Gracenote IDs, enabling show-le...
16/09/2025
AMSTERDAM The organizers of IBC2025 are reporting that 43,858 visitors from more than 170 countries attended the event, which had more than 1,300 exhibitors and...
16/09/2025
Wooden Camera announces the release of its new Accessory Collection for the FUJIFILM GFX ETERNA 55. The highlights of this collection include vital power soluti...
16/09/2025
Anton/Bauer, a leading manufacturer of mobile power solutions for broadcast and cinematic equipment, has announced the launch of Anton/Bauer Fleet Management, a...
16/09/2025
Teradek, a leading provider of video transmission and live production solutions, today announced the launch of Prism Jetpack, a groundbreaking 5G video contribu...
16/09/2025
Astera, the leader in wireless LED lighting solutions, announces the ultra-versatile SolaBulb. Building on the success of the Astera bulb family, SolaBulb intro...
16/09/2025
As the world gathered at TED2025 to explore the provocative theme "Humanity Reimagined", Clear-Com , supported by NETGEAR networking infrastructure, delivered f...
16/09/2025
Bitfocus' Buttons platform celebrated as a catalyst for AV and broadcast convergence
Bitfocus has been named winner of the IABM Impact Award Pro AV Chan...
16/09/2025
Record entries and outstanding innovation celebrated at IBC2025 as the MediaTech community honors its leading people, projects and organizations
IABM announced...
16/09/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (SJC), a leading satellite operator and pay-TV provider in Japan, has partnered with H...
16/09/2025
Telestream congratulates Sky Group, which has been awarded the prestigious IBC Innovation Award for Content Distribution for its MediaMesh platform on Sunday, S...
16/09/2025
Leading space solutions company will use optical ground stations to deliver faster, more secure data from space
Luxembourg, September 15, 2025 - SES, a leading...
16/09/2025
NOVI, Mich. ENCO has unveiled Raptor, a cloud-based live streaming captioning encoder that injects the speed, power and reliability of real-time AI capabilities...
16/09/2025
NEW YORK Comcast NBCUniversal and NBCUniversal Local have announced that a total of $2.5 million has been awarded in 2025 to 69 nonprofit organizations servicin...
16/09/2025
AMSTERDAM Martin Euredjian has joined Atomos as director of advanced imaging and will lead innovation for advanced display technology....
16/09/2025
AMSTERDAM Calrec introduced a 48-faced Argo M and showcased its largest Argo software updates at the recently concluded IBC2025....
16/09/2025
AMSTERDAM Lawo introduced its HOME Audio Shuffler app, a replacement for a traditional baseband audio matrix within an IP-based Dynamic Media Facility, during t...
16/09/2025
CBS is reporting that the 77TH Emmy Awards hosted by Nate Bargatze on Sunday Sept. 14 was seen by more than 7.42 million viewers on the CBS Television Network a...
16/09/2025
Back to All News
Meet the Adversaries That Will Clash in Rulers of Fortune, a S...
16/09/2025
Back to All News
Would You Take 30 Million Baht from a Dead Persons Account? E...
16/09/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the Official Trailer and Poster for She Walks ...
16/09/2025
Comscore Unveils The Scoreboard: An Interactive Destination Surfacing Consumer B...
15/09/2025
Steve Zahn, Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, and Janeane Garofalo star in Ben Stiller&...
15/09/2025
Global K-Pop sensation aespa is redefining what it means to be rich with the r...
15/09/2025
Every day, millions of people around the world turn to Spotify to enjoy the audi...
15/09/2025
After months of intensive planning and implementation, Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic...
15/09/2025
A U.S. Marine launches a Javelin shoulder-fired anti-tank missile during a training exercise. (Photo credit: U.S. Marine Corps)...
15/09/2025
AMSTERDAM TV Tech has named its Best of Show Awards winners for IBC2025, which wraps up today. Entrants were judged by a panel of industry experts on the criter...
15/09/2025
Unique sports content orchestration platform builds momentum among SES's cus...
15/09/2025
Back to All News
Over 41 Million Global Viewers On Netflix Watch Terence Crawfo...
15/09/2025
Paris, France - September 15, 2025 -- Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-p...
15/09/2025
Back to All News
The Great Flood' Teaser Trailer Previews A Gripping Struggle for Survival
Entertainment
15 September 2025
GlobalSouth Korea
Link copi...
15/09/2025
Back to All News
From Hardship to Hope: Typhoon Family' Presents a Tale of...