Project Description
Overview
The Romanian National Opera, Bucharest, is one of four main national opera and ballet companies in Romania. The building was initially constructed in 1953 and has a seated capacity of 952. Renovations took place between 2013-2015 under the supervision of architects Radu Pana and Marius Smigelschi.
Program
The WSDG design team was tasked with improving the acoustic properties of the hall. The historic building suffered from having a dry ‘feel’ and having poor conditions for the musicians in the orchestra pit.
Design
The WSDG design team significantly improved the acoustic properties of the hall through the replacement of absorptive surfaces (i.e. carpet, fabric wall coverings, etc.) with reflective materials (wood paneling, new stalls design) for a more favorable, reverberant sound. After extensive measurements and simulations an increase of the reverberation time by 0.2-0.3 s to actual values of about 1.3 to 1.4 s was finally achieved. Together with changes in the geometric situation in the orchestra pit, the acoustic characteristics of the hall for musicians, singers and the audience were dramatically improved.