Martin Audio at opening of Millennium Centre

13 December 2004

UK - The Wales Millennium Centre, on Cardiff Bay waterfront, has been declared 'open' after a weekend of star-studded gala celebrations, attended by HM The Queen, HRH Prince Charles and The Duke of Edinburgh. For the biggest events of the opening weekend, London companies Autograph Sound and Capital Sound provided a Martin Audio Wavefront line-array system.

The new £106m Wales Millennium Centre is expected to establish itself as one of the world's leading performing arts and destination venues, and is home to the Welsh National Opera. Organizers pulled out all the stops for the inauguration, with not one but several opening ceremonies, honouring Welsh stars as well as showcasing performing arts companies from around the world.

However, the Royal Gala was the true finale to the celebrations. Held in the1900-seat Donald Gordon Theatre, the Gala featured international artists including Sian Phillips, Michael Ball, Ruthie Henshall, Karl Jenkins, Bryn Terfel and Matthew Rhys. The Royal Ballet, The Kirov Ballet, Welsh National Opera, Cape Town Opera and the troupe of Cirque Eloize joined them for a glittering occasion in front of the Queen and other members of the Royal Family.

For the duration of the celebration weekend, Autograph Sound's Nick Lidster designed a sound system featuring a Martin Audio Wavefront line-array, and a 140-input CADAC J-type front-of-house console. "With a 60-piece orchestra and a swing band in the show, not to mention 40 channels of Sennheiser radio mics, we needed all of it," says Tony Gayle, production sound engineer for Autograph Sound. Front-of-house was controlled by engineers Paul Stannering and Richard Sharratt, who also provided live split feeds for the BBC to broadcast the Royal Gala live.

The system featured 14 Wavefront W8L line array enclosures flown per side, with a WSX subwoofer for low frequency extension. The Wales Millennium Centre's own d&b house system delays were also used.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)