The Ravenna Festival

Originally built for trade fairs and sports events, the Pala de Andrè venue in Ravenna (Italy) was first used by the Ravenna Festival about 15 years ago—mainly because of its capacity (it seats 3500) for performances by large symphony orchestras and choirs. Right from the start, the need for a solution to make the musicians feel at home and provide a satisfactory listening experience for the audience was obvious.

The first attempts to make the venue’s sound more palatable to classically-trained ears centered on acoustic treatment involving panels and drapery.

Then, Massimo Carli of BH audio discovered the power of d&b Soundscape for virtual recreations of the desired acoustic environment. In combination with the superior sound quality of Lawo’s mc²-series mixing consoles and their built-in remote control of d&b Soundscape, a sports venue was successfully turned into a virtual concert hall.