OPERA OP DE PARADE NETHERLANDS

Opera op de Parade brought thousands of people together at the Parade in ’s-Hertogenbosch, in the south of the Netherlands, for two evenings of open-air opera and classical music. Organised by Opera Zuid, Philzuid and Theater aan de Parade, the festival returned in 2026 with a special edition celebrating its 20th anniversary and a programme designed to bring opera closer to a broad and diverse audience.

The first evening was dedicated to the Opera Singalong, a participatory event in which the audience was not simply there to watch, but became part of the performance by singing alongside Philzuid, soloists from the International Vocal Competition ’s-Hertogenbosch and Brabant Koor. The second night featured L’Étoile, Emmanuel Chabrier’s satirical opera, a work filled with humour and unexpected twists that transformed the square into a large open-air theatre.

Technical production for this edition was handled by Tintaan, with Marty Brugmans overseeing production. Jannes Noorman was responsible for the FOH mix, while Miguel Augusto handled system configuration and optimisation. The sound solution was coordinated through Unlimited Vision & Sound, a Dutch company specialising in audiovisual solutions for events, with support from TSL Production and LSP, which supplied part of the system used for the production.

Local coordination also involved the DAS AUDIO Benelux team, with Henri and Rob playing a key role in following the project, connecting the different teams and providing the support required to ensure the solution addressed the real needs of the event.

The main technical challenge was to bring the precision of an operatic production to an open urban space, with the audience spread across a large square and without the controlled acoustic conditions of a theatre. In an event of this nature, coverage needs to be uniform, vocal intelligibility is critical, and the system must preserve the natural character of both voices and orchestra without compromising the dynamics of the performance.

These requirements were further shaped by the nature of the festival itself. The Opera Singalong demanded a system capable of supporting a participatory experience, with thousands of attendees singing and following the live music, while L’Étoile called for a more theatrical reproduction, with greater attention to vocal detail, orchestral nuance and the integration of music, stage and space.

The setting of the Parade, in the centre of ’s-Hertogenbosch, also introduced another key requirement: precise control over the energy projected beyond the audience area. In an outdoor production within an urban environment, achieving sufficient sound pressure is not enough. Sound must be directed towards the audience, unwanted energy on stage must be reduced, and propagation into nearby areas of the city must be limited.

To meet these requirements, the main system was configured with 26 MARA, supported by 12 LARA-SUB and 10 ARA-P28 systems. The choice of MARA and LARA-SUB was particularly relevant because of their cardioid design, which provided improved directivity control across the mid and low frequencies, as well as in the system’s low-frequency range.

In an outdoor event, this level of control delivers very tangible benefits. On the one hand, it reduces the energy projected towards the rear of the system, lowering sound levels on stage and creating better working conditions for artists, musicians and the technical team. On the other, it helps contain sound propagation into the surrounding urban environment, an especially important consideration for a square located in the heart of the city.

The MARA systems provided the main audience coverage, with a response designed to maintain clarity, definition and consistency in a compact format while retaining the same control philosophy as the rest of the ARA series. Their performance enabled wide audience areas to be covered with particularly even horizontal dispersion, maintaining a coherent listening experience across different sections of the square.

LARA-SUB provided the low-frequency reinforcement required to support the musical scale of the event, while its cardioid behaviour helped reduce unwanted energy behind the system and improve the overall cleanliness of the mix. The ARA-P28 systems completed the configuration by reinforcing specific coverage areas and improving the audience experience wherever additional support was required.

The combination of these systems made it possible to adapt the response to the characteristics of the Parade while maintaining a balance between sound pressure, intelligibility, tonal naturalness and dispersion control. Coordination between Tintaan, Unlimited Vision & Sound, TSL Production, LSP and the DAS AUDIO technical team enabled a solution to be implemented around the real requirements of the event. Miguel Augusto’s work as system engineer was instrumental in optimising the configuration, refining coverage and ensuring precise system performance during both the Opera Singalong and the performance of L’Étoile.

The system’s performance exceeded the expectations of both the technical and production teams, who particularly highlighted the clarity, control and natural sound achieved in an open square within a dense urban environment.

“What surprised us most was the system’s horizontal dispersion. In an open square, with an audience spread across a very wide area, we needed consistent, natural and well-controlled coverage. The system maintained that sense of uniformity without losing definition or projecting more energy than necessary outside the audience area,” said Marty Brugmans, Production Manager at Tintaan.

From FOH, Jannes Noorman also praised the system’s performance throughout both days of the festival. “For open-air opera, intelligibility and dynamics are fundamental. The system delivered a very stable image, with clear vocals, a highly natural musical response and a cleaner stage than we would normally expect in this type of production,” he explained.

The 2026 edition of Opera op de Parade demonstrated how a configuration based on the ARA series can bring the precision of a stage production into an open urban environment, maintaining the balance between coverage, control, reduced unwanted energy and sound quality. Collaboration between Theater aan de Parade, Unlimited Vision & Sound, Tintaan, TSL Production, LSP, Rob Pigmans and the DAS AUDIO Benelux team made possible an experience in which opera felt immediate, participatory and supported by a high level of technical performance.

Project credits

Event: Opera op de Parade
Production: Tintaan
Production Manager: Marty Brugmans
FOH: Jannes Noorman
System Engineer: Miguel Augusto
Sound system: DAS AUDIO
Rental partners: TSL Production and LSP
Local coordination: DAS AUDIO Benelux, Henri and Rob
With the collaboration of: Theater aan de Parade, Unlimited Vision & Sound and Rob Pigmans