Quality sound in a World Heritage Site
Last year Sydney Opera House, architectural wonder and one of the world’s most distinctive and celebrated performance venues, signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with Sennheiser and Neumann.
Sometimes the route leading to a significant achievement is both circuitous and bold. In 1955, when Eugene Goosens, conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, managed to convince the then New South Wales Premier, Joseph Cahill, of the need for an opera house in Sydney, nobody could have imagined that the construction work would take until Spring 1973 and would end up costing more than 100 million dollars. Equally, nobody could have foreseen that Sydney Opera House would become a symbol of Australia or that it would come to be considered one of the most significant architectural achievements of the 20th century. Many experts have even called the building the eighth wonder of the world.
The history of Sydney Opera House is as extraordinary as the building itself. In 1957 the government awarded the contract to the Danish architect Jørn Utzon, even though his suggestion had actually been discarded. Included in the jury to select the winning design from the eventual 220 plus submissions was the strikingly original Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen. Saarinen arrived for the judging after a primary short listing process and, as the story goes, not having been impressed with his colleagues’ initial chosen list, rifled through the pack of discarded designs and fetched out Jørn Utzon’s now legendary drawings. The rest is history.
The architect later explained that he had been inspired by the site itself; a peninsula projecting from the city’s shore which until then had been used for tram sheds and maritime buildings. The idea for his building, which is as delicate and poetic as it is monumental, came from the segments of an orange. Fitting perfectly in its natural setting, its exterior form resembles the sails of a ship.
Utzon’s vision and his belief in the need to continually push the limits of technical possibility in all areas posed enormous challenges to everyone involved in the project and led to arguments, delays and spiralling costs.
But the effort and expense more than paid off. The building, 183 metres long and 118 metres wide covering an area measuring 1.8 hectares, with its roof clad in 1,056,000 glazed, white ceramic tiles, rising 67 metres up in the air, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in June 2007. It was described as “one of the indisputable masterpieces of human creativity, not only in the 20th century but in the history of mankind.”
Outer and inner beauty
According to Utzon, his aim was to create a ‘functional sculpture’ that would fascinate all who saw it. “When you walk round it or look up into the sky there is always something new going on; the sunshine, the light and the clouds combine to create something living.” His dream of touching an emotional chord in visitors appears to have been realised: there is a story about a man about to commit suicide by jumping from the nearby Harbour Bridge having looked across at the sublime beauty of the Opera House and changed his mind. “It is a supremely human attribute to strive for the exceptional,” said Utzon of his work ethic. “We worked in the same way as musicians do; it could never be quite good enough.”
It comes as no surprise therefore to find that the high levels of quality found within the opera house can have an equally moving effect on visitors. With more than 2,500 events and performances and 7.5 million visitors a year, Sydney Opera House counts as one of the world’s busiest performing arts centres and tourist attractions. The seven versatile performance venues range from the Utzon Room, which seats 210, through to the Concert Hall with its 2679 seats, and the outdoor Forecourt in front of the Opera House. Each offers enough space and ambience for a diverse variety of events. Alongside opera stars such as José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti and Dame Joan Sutherland, giants from the worlds of rock, pop, classics and jazz like Chick Corea, Philip Glass, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, America, Michael Bublé, Air, Björk, Coldplay and the Pussycat Dolls have all taken to one of the many venues over the last few decades. Sydney Opera House also hosts theatre and dance performances as well as TV shows and major events such as APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). It has even played host to the Olympic Flame and Nelson Mandela.
Forward-looking cooperation
Last year saw a new chapter unfold in the history of Sydney Opera House when it entered into an agreement with Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG and the Sennheiser subsidiary Georg Neumann GmbH. Sennheiser and Neumann microphones have been in use here from the start; the world famous architect Frank Gehry said that from the outset Sydney Opera House was ahead of the technical possibilities of its time, so it stands to reason that it should now enter into an official sound partnership with two of the most distinguished audio manufacturers in the world. After all, for decades their products have been noted for their extreme forward-looking technical qualities as well as for their sophisticated design.
By 2010 Sennheiser and Neumann, coordinated and supported by their Australian distribution partner Syntec International, will have the exclusive right to equip the Opera House with a range of products. These include radio microphone systems of the top-of-the-range 3000 and 5000 series and MKH 8000 RF condenser microphones, which are setting new standards for the recording of classical music. Other microphones to be used include the Neumann classic, the U 87 Ai, a versatile large-diaphragm microphone, along with the Neumann TLM 49, specially designed for vocal studio recordings, and the TLM 50, a high-end microphone for classical music. These models excel as a result of the organic combination of the latest sound technology and their classic 50s style design.
With its many performance venues, rehearsal rooms and recording studios, the Sydney Opera House has extremely high standards when it comes to audio technology. Opera House staff – and the general public – benefit from both the wide range of products at their disposal and the expertise of Sennheiser employees, who advise and support the on-site sound engineers and who have access to decades of experience at the very highest level gained within the leading opera houses of the world.
Sennheiser and Neumann ensure that the internal acoustics do justice to the sublime exterior and provide visitors with the appropriate sound in the best possible quality. “The partnership is a unique opportunity for us to work with the best manufacturers within the music industry,” explains Sydney Opera House Technical Director, David Claringbold. “Sydney Opera House is a highly respected global brand so it is important for us to ensure excellent quality in order to preserve our brand image. We need partners who work on the same international level as we do. Sennheiser and Neumann microphones have not just dominated the last few decades when it comes to design and performance but they are also forward-looking.” The unique success story of Sydney Opera House looks set to continue.
