September 2014 — The Burgtheater, originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world. Created in 1741, it is the second oldest European theatre in Europe hosting historic concerts such as Mozart and where Beethoven’s 1st Symphony premiered.

This time the versatility and design of the K-array speakers have torn down the barriers between past and present. The K-array audio system used at the Burgtheatre (Austria) has adapted an age-old space to modern requirements, while respecting the architecture of this architectonic gem.

The ceiling of the building is lined with frescoes by Gustav Klimt, and a statue of Apollo stands guard over the main entrance on the Ringstrasse. The interior is the height of opulence, decorated in rich red, cream, and gold with marble floors and paintings of great actors on the walls called Burgtheater Gallery (collection of portraits of members of the Burgtheater in the course of its 200-year history).

The theatres shape allows it to be used in a variety of ways: during concerts, theatre performances and conferences. On this occasion 6 x K-array Anankonda’s were used in a recent performance of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. and included in the audio design, provided by our Austrian distributor Musik Lenz.

Product specialist Karl Wienand from Musik Lenz told us, Mr. Mag. David Müllner, who is the head of the sound department in the Burgtheater, installed 6 x KAN200s as position based speakers providing directional hearing and projecting the voice to the audience with clarity and quality. “The system allowed us to focus the sound effectively within this beautiful venue and because of the compact size of the speakers the audience didn’t notice them, they blended nicely into the set and the architecture.”

“A truly great and interesting challenge to work in such a wonderful place.” The Burgtheater seats nearly 1.200 people, and including the Akademietheater and Vestibül, it hosts around 800 performances per year.

The theatre producers will be using KAN200s, Anakonda’s at the next show as a continuous line of front-fill speakers, demonstrating the quality, consistency and practicality of the nearly invisible K-array speakers.