48 l June 2013
www.psneurope.com
installationreport BELGIUM
KIVA goes to the Opera
The Theatre Royal in Liége chooses L-Acoustics kit as it seeks to expand its capabilities but preserve its architecture, writes Marc Maes
AFTER MORE than two years of restoration work, the Théatre Royal de Liège, home of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie (the French-speaking area of Belgium), reopened its doors to the public at the end of 2012. The renovation of the building, built in 1875 and one of four opera houses in Belgium, represented an investment of €31 million.
As far back as 2008, Riva Audio was appointed by main contractor Putman to carry out preliminary research, then design and fit a new audio system, using the company’s expertise in stage mechanics and technical installations of theatres and studios. “The big challenge was to persuade the city officials and opera management to locate audio gear in a listed 19th
century building – they wanted the venue to be ‘sound reinforcement-less’,” says Frédéric Vard, managing director of Riva. “For example, it took quite some negotiations with the government’s Monuments and Landscape Department (MLD) to obtain permission to install the speaker cabinets.” XLR sprl, a distributor within the L-Acoustics Certified
L-Acoustics line arrays now hang either side of the stage
Provider Network for Belgium, collaborated with Riva Audio on this installation. The need for a modern, flexible
and efficient audio system was underpinned by the theatre management’s plans to make use of the building in a multifunctional capacity. Alongside the opera performances, the theatre is to host conferences, gatherings and
concerts. The venue’s iron safety curtain, compulsory in this category of theatres, has been equipped with a screen to facilitate the projection of movies. “When we received the go-
ahead for the sound system, we had to take into account the new furnishing of the 1,440-capacity theatre,” continues Vard. “ In the end, we agreed to install an L-Acoustics line array system on
Photo: Jacky Croisier, Opéra Royal de Wallonie
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