A renowned three-genre theatre in Switzerland staging around 20 new productions each season, Theatre St Gallen’s ensemble performs approximately 450 shows per year. As part of a general renovation, the stage technology, including the sound system, was recently renewed, with an Alcons Audio LR18 line array serving as the main system.
‘Konzert und Theatre St Gallen [the official name of the institution] covers a very broad spectrum, including opera, drama, dance, youth theatre, and occasional guest performances,’ explains Head of Sound Technology, Marko Siegmeier. ‘As the largest musical theatre in Eastern Switzerland, we also organise the St Gallen Festival, featuring a large open-air opera production and other performances in various locations. This results in highly demanding requirements.
‘In drama, we need natural amplification of the actors’ voices that should ideally go unnoticed,’ he continues. ‘In classical performances, we aim for a high-quality sound experience to the audience. For musicals, we need genre-appropriate reinforcement with sufficient volume and fullness, without disruptive artifacts. Dance theatre brings yet another set of requirements.’
The goal of the refurbishment was to find a sound system capable of delivering high-resolution audio with a wide and balanced frequency spectrum, along with an optimal transient response over the required, fairly large power range. Additionally, the sound dispersion should be as optimal as possible, with all components working coherently. This dictated a curved line-array system as the main sound reinforcement system. Theatre St Gallen organised a shootout with leading manufacturers, where Alcons Audio’s LR18 line-array system impressed across the board in terms of tonality, resolution, homogeneity (even at high levels), and immunity to feedback.
Installed by Swiss company Kilchemann AG, the main sound reinforcement consists of eight Alcons LR18/90 dual 8-inch compact pro-ribbon line-array units positioned on the left and right sides. For the centre, there is an additional array of four LR18/90 and two LR18/120 units. Low-frequency support is provided by ten BC272 medium-output 15-inch/12-inch cardioid subwoofers, which are mounted in the ceiling near the main PA system. For the near field, there are four Alcons SR9 fills and two QRP20 point-source columns.
On stage, the monitoring system includes flown Alcons VR5 5-inch ultra-compact monitors, as well as VR8 8-inch compact monitors and RR12 12-inch point-source array systems to provide clear and reliable sound for performers.
To accommodate mobile applications, the theatre has a selection of versatile speaker systems, including QR24 4x 6.5-inch column-array modules, QRP20 and QRP40 point-source columns. Additional subwoofers including VR5, VR8, BC272 and BF121 further enhance the system’s flexibility for various production needs.
The house system is powered by 12 Alcons Sentinel10 4x 2.5kW amplified loudspeaker controllers. For mobile applications, additional Sentinel10 and Sentinel3 units are available for use around the theatre premisis.
‘A successful debut, with much praise from the audience and industry colleagues for the sound,’ says Marko of the system’s first use. ‘Since then, we’ve had well over 100 performances, consistently receiving positive feedback from production teams and guests. A big thank you to Uwe Biesgen from Creativsound and Carsten Albrecht from Alcons Audio Germany for their outstanding support.’
More: www.alconsaudio.com
