Hanoi: John Pellower, representing Meyer Sound Laboratories (USA) – the supplier of sound equipment for Broadway stages and theatres worldwide – shared insights about the Ho Guom Opera House during a recent visit to Hanoi.
Welcome back to Vietnam, sir. In December last year, Ho Guom Opera House was the only representative from Vietnam to be included in the top 10 best opera houses in the world on the 10 best website of the World Travel Awards organisation – WTA. What are your impressions of this achievement?
John Pellower: I believe this is truly great news not only for the Opera House but also for Hanoi as a whole. Despite being a relatively new construction, Ho Guom Opera House has received such remarkable recognition from a major global award organisation. It embodies all the elements of a world-class theater. I am delighted to hear this information.
Although newly established, Ho Guom Opera House has named with “icons” of the world such as the Metropolitan Opera (USA), Wiener Staatsoper (Austria), Sydn
ey Opera House (Australia)… in this award. What makes Ho Guom Opera House stand out and differ to achieve such success?
John Pellower: Ho Guom Opera House has standout features compared to the names on this award list. It is one of the theatres with the best equipment in the region, and even the world, from stage performance equipment to sound.
Meyer Sound takes pride in contributing to the reputation of Ho Guom Opera House with our PA System to amplify the sound of performances, and one of Meyer Sound’s most prominent sound systems is Constellation (an integrated system of speakers, microphones, digital processing, patented algorithms, and exclusive high-quality certification only available at Meyer Sound), allowing the acoustic characteristics of the auditorium to be altered to suit various types of performances. As a result, the audience will have the best music experience possible.
It is known that to create the best listening experience for the audience, the strong relationship between acoustics and
architecture cannot be overlooked. What is your assessment of this when building the sound system for Ho Guom Opera House?
John Pellower: The first thing we have to do with a theatre is to consider its architecture. We cannot change its appearance, so the crucial aspect lies in seamlessly integrating the sound system into the theater’s architecture in a way that the audience cannot see but can clearly perceive. And we also need to ensure that the theatre’s sound system can adapt to all types of performances.
Constellation can be said to be the most advanced sound system in the world currently being used at Ho Guom Opera House. Is there any more advanced system that Meyer Sound is planning to add to the opera house, sir?
John Pellower: When we first began implementing Constellation in theatres around the world in 2006, it marked the beginning of continuous development for this sound system.
We are in the process of preparing to introduce a completely new digital platform with optimised costs. The speaker s
ystem will be newly developed and larger. Accompanying this will be a smarter processing procedure. The development of Constellation is an ongoing process.
We are also working on improving the sound quality to integrate more harmoniously with the design of the opera house. Installation and operation consequently become easier with higher performance.
What is the biggest challenge in setting up and upgrading the theatre’s sound system? What have you and your colleagues done to find optimal solutions for these challenges?
John Pellower: Every theatre is different, and we have to have extensive discussions with management, consultants, and architects. We have to bring them all together to find a common goal, allowing the sound system to operate as efficiently as possible.
In your opinion, how has high-quality sound changed the evaluation of performances worldwide? And how has Meyer Sound’s sound elevated performances at Ho Guom Opera House to a new level?
John Pellower: With a good sound system, performance
s will become significantly better. If you don’t have good sound quality, how can you deliver a good performance? Therefore, I believe that sound is the key to the success of an opera house, concert hall, or any other building. And we have created various types of sound to adapt to different performances and different types of programmes.
Source: Vietnam News Agency
