La Boheme Brought to Life in Hannover Maschpark posted: 28/07/2015
A special televised concert of La Boh me - a new production in the NDR Classic Open Air series - took place recently in Hannover's Maschpark. Puccini's famous opera was not only heard live by an audience of 20,000 through Martin Audio's award-winning MLA loudspeaker array system, but by television viewers tuning into NDR throughout the country and those picking up the live stream on NDR.de.
The 2,000 ticketed concert goers in front of the stage were joined by crowds who gathered in the park, where they had an opportunity to witness the event (including rehearsal) for free.
Responsible for the event's sound system design was once again Georg Hentschel of Braunschweig based LiveAudio event technic GmbH. A specialist in classical shows, he had helped deliver the first classical open air concert (with MLA) in Hannover last year.
The main PA rig comprised two hangs of six MLA each side of the stage, with a single MLD downfill at the base of each hang to draw the image down. These were aided by a pair of Martin Audio MLX subs, stacked at the base of the PA tower (while further subs were recessed under the stage).
Six further W8LMD Minis, with vertically-arrayable wide dispersion characteristics, provided further nearfield coverage, actively driven by XTA and Crest.
However, because this year additional seating was extended out wide, the system needed to provide extreme horizontal coverage of 135 degrees and thus two six-element hangs of MLA Compact were deployed as outfills. This solution for extended horizontal coverage really worked, and the MLA and MLA Compact were in perfect harmony, Georg Hentschel reports.
Feeding the system from FOH were a DiGiCo SD7 digital mixer, partnered at the stage end by an SD10 monitor desk.
The real challenges were not only dealing with the direct volume from orchestra and singer and the wide coverage - but also the fact that the sound system for the audience could not interfere with the broadcast sound. Since we needed to be powerful and quiet at the same time this was the perfect job for MLA and the reason that I specified it. It's a great sounding system offering perfect coverage.
But where Martin Audio's magic (and Georg Hentschel's genius in sound design) really shone through were away from the formal seating arrangement in front of the stage to the general public viewing the event on a big screen in the Maschpark. Here, having calculated difficult time alignment values, he divided the park into three zones serviced by various loudspeakers, including three hangs of eight MLA Mini enclosures, reinforced with two MSX subs, for Zone 1.
Some of the challenges faced by Georg Hentschel could only have been surmounted by use of Martin Audio's MLA. One big problem of this site is firing the PA onto the wall of the government building; MLA provided us with a great solution to eliminate this, as we could kill the back-wall sound entirely. It was really amazing to operate this system in small saved steps, like a surgeon using his knife. Hentschel also managed to isolate the orchestra through MLA's tight multi-cellular control, ensuring that no back-sound disturbed the stage area.
In view of the high volume level produced by the orchestra, and his need to mitigate the direct sound, Georg Hentschel also decided to drop the flown MLA system almost to the mid point of the stage - 7.5 meters from top box to the ground - in order to generate a more controlled mix. This was because the round shaping of the stage worked like a big horn, he explained. By dropping the rig I was able to bring in the sound system very smoothly and at the same height as the virtual orchestra sound.
We created three separate mixes as a result of this high volume output - for main system, outfill and nearfill. For the outer areas we operated the MLA Compact with a separate mix to hold the orchestra level.
The result was an overwhelming success. We were not only delighted with how well this worked [for the paying concert goers] but also for the huge amount of praise we received for the performance of MLA Mini in the park. In particular this was from the Government who invited the townsmen of Hannover.
As for the main stage one of the singers told us that it was the best open air live sound he had ever heard.
The concert saw Kery-Lynn Wilson conducting the NDR Radio Philharmonie, with choirs consisting of the Johannes-Brahms-Chor Hannover and M dchenchor Hannover, Thus the tragic opera reached its inevitable conclusion in a way that no-one who attended will forget as Rodolfo (featuring Michael Fabiano's tenor) lamented the death of Mimi (fellow soloist, soprano Carmen Giannattasio).
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
La Boheme Brought to Life in Hannover Maschpark posted: 28/07/2015 
