The Old Stage of the Royal Danish Theater, Copenhagen, Denmark
"ACOUSTICAL IMPROVEMENT OF A HISTORICAL OPERA HOUSE USING ROOM SIMULATIONS
Linda Parati & Gade, Anders & Roberto Pompoli & Jens Holger Rindel. (2003). Acoustical improvement of a historical opera house using room simulations.
ABSTRACT: In the field of acoustics new techniques have been developed in order to improve the acoustics of a room. Techniques, such as computer simulations, are especially useful in historical theatres where acoustical characteristics can be preserved during renovations or improved with well chosen minor alterations while still preserving the theatre’s heritage.
These new techniques have been applied to investigate the acoustical balance between a singer on the stage and the orchestra in the pit which is a relatively new concept in room acoustics. Simulations have been carried out in a model of the Royal Theatre of Copenhagen, which was inaugurated on the 15th of October 1874. By means of a few modifications in the type of materials, dimensions and shapes, some of the architectural elements controlling the balance have been identified and optimised. " - https://lnkd.in/e_j3QhkB
"Compromises in orchestra pit design: A ten-year trench war in The Royal Theatre, Copenhagen
Anders Christian Gade, Bo Mortensen
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture Design and Conservation
Abstract, Acoustical Society of America. Journal, 1998
The ``old stage'' of The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen-a classical horseshoe theatre with an almost flat audience floor and four balcony levels—is the primary opera and ballet theatre in Denmark. In the early 1980s the orchestra pit was enlarged and its size made flexible. However, in the following years this new flexibility caused a formal battle between the orchestra, the singers, and management, because each group had different interests as to how the pit should be configured for each new production. In the 1990s, increased concern about the musicians' hearing and the increase in the popularity of opera finally opened the way for a new renovation of the pit, which solved most of the problems.
The paper describes the many lessons learned during the ten-year period in which the authors were involved with the case as acoustic consultants. Questions of how pit configuration influences mutual hearing and exposure levels in the pit, balance between singers and orchestra as judged by the audience, communication between stage and pit, as well as the influence of pit floor construction on orchestra timbre will all be illustrated by results of numerous objective measurements, subjective surveys, and computer simulations." - https://lnkd.in/eYMGX9B2
