In the last issue of The Spin, we reported on the Middle East's first opera house project, in the shape of the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) – as the team unpacked, set up and tested an enormous cross-section of new kit, including a large complement of Zaxcom digital wireless microphone systems supplied by Orbital. The order included the new Zaxcom TRX900LT third-generation transmitters, IFB 100, ERX1TCD, RX 4900, TRX 900, STA150 and TRX 700 - augmenting the ROHM's wireless solutions across its multiple performance spaces.

Deputy Head of Sound & Broadcast, Bruno Silva, brings the story up to date:
"Actually moving into the ROH and commissioning everything for real, after all the months of preparation, was a great if exhausting experience! We have spent the last two months going through a soft launch period, with small concerts and recordings – giving us the time to get everything well and truly tested and fine-tuned ahead of the grand opening on 14th October. It has been truly amazing to see the venue's transition from a building site into a fully functioning theatre, and we now have a fixed programme through to March.

"We opened with a première production of Turandot by Franco Zeffirelli, which was specially commissioned for this inaugural season and featured Placido Domingo conducting the orchestra of the Fondazione Arena di Verona. Other highlights included Renée Fleming and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the American Ballet Theatre with Don Quixote, Andrea Bocelli and the cellist Yo-Yo Ma – to name a few!"

On the Zaxcom front, Bruno reports some important performance improvements– battery life has risen from typically 5 to over 8 hours now in some models.

Getting to this stage has been a major exercise, involving a team of 56 across Sound & Broadcast, Stage and Operations and Lighting departments, managed by Geoffrey Wheel, former Technical Director at Royal Opera House Covent Garden. The sound department is supervised by an expert core team of 3 headed up by Collin Chivers, former Deputy Head of Sound & Broadcast at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. In addition to Bruno Silva, the other Deputy Head of Sound and Broadcast is Mike Compton. With the grand opening behind them, it is now a question of system refinement, and enjoying their new environment and equipment!