The official reopening of the Bolshoi Theatre on 28 October 2011 marks the successful completion of one of the most challenging and extensive theatre renovations in modern times, taking a total of over six years. Only the very best technical components were good enough for the world-famous ballet and opera theatre, a prime symbol of Russia's cultural and musical status. KLOTZ cables were used for large parts of the audio-visual cabling throughout the theatre.

On the tenth of September 2011, the city of Mannheim celebrated the 125th anniversary of the invention of the modern automobile by Carl Benz, with a spectacular multimedia show called „autosymphonic“.

If ever there was a theatre which is considered a national icon it is the Bolshoi in Moscow. Built in 1856 in its current form, the Bolshoi was the showplace of the Tsar and the Soviets and was reputed to have - as it was equipped originally - one of the best auditoriums in the world acoustically. On Friday, 28th October, the Bolshoi Theatre will reopen after six years of refurbishment. As a partner of the Russian general contractor SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP designed, delivered and installed major parts of the new audio technology.

Sound and lighting production company, MediaContract, rigged an advanced EAW®  system to help inaugurate the new amphitheatre in the Belarus city of Molodechno recently, when the Dozhinki Festival — an annual celebration for the year’s harvest — took place.

At the invitation of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, cameraman and Polecam founder Steffan Hewitt recently headed north to film gannets at Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth.

Germany’s SWR broadcast centre served as the routing complex for all ARD radio stations during the papal visit in Germany from September 22 – 25. Not simply providing a hub for all the source signals from seven remote locations, the centre also fed the ARD stations with fully produced audio contributions and two stereo feeds: one carrying live reports and soundbites, and the second one supplying live interviews with return feeds. Lawo’s crystal consoles and KS-16 modules were used to handle this broad array of sources – a relatively slim, but brilliant, technical solution!

When the Pope is travelling, no expense is spared to assure the highest security standards for everyone involved. This applies particularly to broadcasters reporting directly from the special occasion and, as a result, demands extensive logistical organization on their part. The German broadcaster SWR was at the centre of the action for the Pope’s visit to Freiburg, providing OB vans for radio and television coverage, and with Lawo consoles playing a central role.

The multimedia “autoSYMPHONIC” show recently ended celebrations for the 125th birthday of the automobile in Mannheim, Germany. An audience of 17,000 attended the spectacle that traced the history of cars and gave an insight into their future development.

Wireless Solution Sweden AB sent the award-winning W-DMX™ technology to Peru to play an important role in the 100-year anniversary of the discovery of the existence of the Quechua citadel of Machu Picchu in 1911 (“100 Años del Redescubrimiento de Machu Picchu) by explorer Hiram Bingham.

The Zurich Opera House is internationally recognized as one of the world’s most successful theatres. Year after year it hosts over 300 opera and ballet performances, concerts and recitals, all at the highest artistic level. This season, the programme included Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’ and Bizet’s ‘The Pearl Fishers’, as well as a premiere of Rossini’s ‘The Silken Ladder’. And now, in two stages, an upgrade of the opera house audio system has been completed with a Lawo mc²66 console at its heart.

Last year, 101 musicians from 33 countries uploaded videos to YouTube of themselves auditioning for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011. Chosen with the help of leading orchestras around the world and the YouTube community, the musicians finally made it to the end of their journey to perform in an extraordinary concert conducted by Grammy-award winning YouTube Symphony Orchestra Artistic Advisor, Michael Tilson-Thomas, and streamed live on YouTube directly from Sydney Opera House.

Bethesda Cathedral in eastern Singapore has solved the problem sudden peaks in the volume of its AV presentations by investing in a Jünger Audio LEVEL MAGIC™ two-channel loudness normaliser. The unit has been added to the signal path between the Cathedral’s new Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system and the distribution patch bay to automatically control the levels on any incoming signal source, regardless of its input level.

The wedding of Prince Albert of Monaco to Charlene Wittstock will be remembered as one of the media highlights of the year 2011: countless TV stations all over the world broadcast the entire ceremony live. In fact, the passionate enthusiasm of the population of Monte Carlo spilled over into neighbouring France with no less fervour, with over 7.5 million viewers following the proceedings live in the Hexagon on July 1st and 2nd.

DPA’s new Reference Standard series of microphones have been used for a large outdoor event in Aix-en-Provence by French rental company Texen. Parade(s) was the opening concert for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and featured the London Symphony Orchestra, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and various soloists, performing Verdi’s La Traviata.

The winner of the IBC2011 International Honour for Excellence is Sir David Attenborough, in recognition of his remarkable career in television and, in particular, natural history. His career spans almost 60 years, with his Atlantic Productions documentary Flying Monsters 3D with Sir David Attenborough one of the most acclaimed programmes commissioned by Sky 3D.