Case StudyApplication: Audio - TheatreCompany: Fredericia TheatreCountry: Denmark

Danish theatre chose Sony for their production of the European premiere of Disney’s Aladdin – The Musical

BackgroundFredericia Theatre is situated in Jutland in the west of Denmark. The theatre works closely together with the Danish Academy of Musical Theatre (Det Danske Musicalakademi). This has resulted in a number of spectacular performances which have been noticed by the business both in Europe and the US.

ChallengesFredericia Theatre has been working together with the Sony Professional dealer Alfa Audio in Aarhus for years. However, when Disney asked them if they would like to be the first stage in Europe to present the musical Aladdin, the theatre saw the need to upgrade their audio solution. At the time they had a number of analogue channels which could no longer be used, and they were looking for a new solution which would be sufficient for a large musical like Aladdin, where a great number of actors sing and talk simultaneously.

The number one producer of musical theatre in Denmark – Fredericia Theatre – was chosen by Disney to stage Aladdin. Sony Professional dealer Alfa Audio in Aarhus identified their needs and designed the optimum solution with Sony digital wireless microphones.

SolutionsSony SolutionAlfa Audio installed 16 Sony DWR-R02D double receivers with 32 channels, 32 DWT-B01/E, 2 AN-01UHF antennas, and 2 RMU-01 Cross Remote Antennas. The Sony technology was delivered through Sony specialist distributor ARVA Trading AB in Sweden

The digital microphones are controlled by Sony’s Cross Remote function. The sound engineers can control all parameters in the transmitter directly from the receiver or from a computer, and in seconds they can set the transmitter to stand-by, switch the channel or change the frequency on both the transmitter and the receiver.

To optimize the sound experience in the theatre, the system was equipped with DPA d:fine headsets. Alfa Audio also put in a new d&b audiotechnik centre cluster which works with the existing d&b audiotechnik PA, TTA Stagetracker and surround speaker system.

ResultsThe Sony wireless system has been a huge improvement for the theatre. Today the sound is much more transparent, with a far better vocal presentation and an extraordinary intelligibility. Throughout the performances of Aladdin the audience could hear both the spoken dialogue and musical numbers crystal clear, even though the performers were accompanied by an orchestra of 18 musicians.

Aladdin became a huge success both among the audience and in the media, so Fredericia Theatre decided to play Aladdin in the east of Denmark as well. As a result, this summer Disney’s Aladdin – The Musical can be seen at the Royal Danish Opera in the heart of Copenhagen.

Why Sony Were Selected“The theatre wanted a state-of-the-art system. We helped them in identifying their needs and presented alternative solutions for them to consider. The choice was easy - Sony DWX was the only solution,” says Lars Baun Fredriksen, head of Alfa Audio. Alfa Audio recommended Sony’s digital wireless microphones, seeing how they would work perfectly with the theatre’s old microphones. The digital transmission technology used in the microphones makes it possible to add a lot more wireless channels. If necessary, for instance with large theatre productions, one can add several hundred channels.

Quotes

Lars Baun Frederiksen, Head of Alfa Audio.

“The most important benefit of the Sony digital wireless microphones is the way they produce completely uncompressed audio with a wide dynamic area and an unsurpassed signal-to-noise-ratio.”

Tim Andreasen, Sound Designer at Fredericia Theatre.

“We spent more than a year planning the design for Disney’s Aladdin, and the reception from the public, the media and the business was overwhelming. We are very happy with the digital audio system from Sony.”

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Professional Solutions, a division of Sony Europe, is the leading supplier of AV/IT solutions to businesses across a wide variety of sectors including, Media and Broadcast, Video Security and Retail, Transport & Large Venue markets. It delivers products, systems and applications to enable the creation, manipulation and distribution of digital audio-visual content that add value to businesses and their customers. With over 25 years’ experience in delivering innovative market-leading products, Sony Europe, Professional Solutions is ideally placed to deliver exceptional quality and value to its customers. The systems integration arm of Sony Europe offers its customers access to the expertise and local knowledge of skilled professionals across Europe. Collaborating with a network of established technology partners, Sony delivers end to end solutions that address the customer’s needs, integrating software and systems to achieve each organisation’s individual business goals. For more information please visit www.pro.sony.eu

Product List

• 16 Sony DWR-R02D

double receivers with

32 channels

• 32 DWT-B01/E body

packs

• 2 AN-01UHF antennas

• 2 RMU-01 Cross

Remote antennas

• DPA d:fine headsets

• d&b audiotechnik

centre cluster

• TA Stagetracker and

surround speaker

system

Application Provider

Alfa Audio