Bosch Rexroth modernizes European stages

Greater artistic freedom and ease of use

The Nutcracker Suite, Die Fledermaus (The Bat) or La Traviata: The winter season is theater season for the stages of Europe. Nowhere else in the world are there so many venues with centuries of tradition. A lot is currently happening behind the scenes, even in these historical buildings: more and more theaters are investing in new stage automation. As a result, Bosch Rexroth is currently involved in the modernization of well-known theaters in six European countries: the Royal Opera in Stockholm, the Cologne Opera House and Theater, the Goetheaneum in Dornach, Switzerland, the Academy of Music in Budapest, the Jizdecka Theater in Pilzen and, in Vienna, the Burgtheater and the Academy Theater.

Silently raising, lowering or rotating large stage segments, actors who seemingly disappear without a trace from the stage, the lightning-fast transformation of the stage set: more and more venues want to offer their audiences full artistic enjoyment. “The modernization not only provides the venues with more artistic freedom,” affirms Volker Kirsch, Head of Stage Automation Industry Sector Management at Bosch Rexroth. “At the same time, we bring the operation up to the current state of the art and significantly increase the availability of the system.”

Thus, the work of the technicians will be much safer and more clearly arranged. “During the rehearsals, the stage technicians calmly program all the motion sequences, and during the performance, all they need to do is press a button: The transformations are performed automatically,” Volker Kirsch reports from the field. The software is so intelligent that every movement of the stage elements is already fine tuned during the programming phase, so that nothing gets in the way at the crucial moment. Rexroth has installed these control units in the two Viennese theaters as well as in Stockholm and in Pilzen.

In the lower stage machinery, to move the stage platforms, which often weigh several tons Bosch Rexroth has designed and installed the complete drive technology, including the steel structures. “For every venue, we prepare a customized solution and, depending on the situation, we rely either on hydraulic or electromechanical drives,” says the Industry Sector Manager. Bosch Rexroth relies on its worldwide experience in complex projects: Just two years ago, the company conducted the complete modernization of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. There, the audience enjoys the world’s most extensive and advanced stage automation. Over the past few decades, Bosch Rexroth has continuously developed and installed the corresponding drive and control solutions in more than seventy theaters and opera houses.

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