This internationally acclaimed theatre has more than 200 DPA microphones at its disposal to ensure that every performances is clearly heard and thoroughly enjoyed.
As the city's main stage for operetta, opera, musicals and ballet, Vienna’s Volksoper is renowned throughout the world for the quality and diversity of its performances. It is also an incredibly busy theatre with some 300 performances of around 35 different productions staged every year between September and June.
Delivering such a high volume of performances requires a great deal of effort from everyone involved, especially the sound department.
"To cope with such an intense workload, our sound equipment has to be flexible, durable and very hard working," says Martin Lukesch, Head of Sound and Multimedia at Volksoper Vienna. "This is why we use DPA microphones. For many years they have played an important part in providing the amplification for the orchestra, for actors in musicals and for actors and singers in every kind of show. Opera and operettas, of course, require no amplification – that's all down to the power of the human voice."
Lukesch adds that DPA microphones were initially chosen because they are extremely high quality, reliable microphones that are capable of delivering excellent sound.
"They also work beautifully with our Sennheiser D9000 multichannel digital wireless systems," he says. "In total, we have more than 200 DPA microphones, including
d:screet™ 4061 Omnidirectional Miniature Microphones and
d:fine™ 4066 Headset Microphones,
d:facto™ Vocal Microphones and
d:vote™ 4099 Instrument Microphones, which we particularly like because they clip easily onto any instrument and make no compromises when it comes to sound quality."
Volkoper's DPA microphones are currently being used for a production of Man of La Mancha, which opened on October 17th 2015. This famous musical is based on a book by Dale Wasserman, with lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. Inspired by Miguel de Cevantes seventeenth-century masterpiece Don Quixote, the musical tells the story of the 'mad' knight, Don Quixote. It is a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition.