AEC attracts live Vienna Philharmonic

The Albany Entertainment Centre is attracting the interest of local and interstate venue managers, thanks to its unique ability to engage the Great Southern audience, according to Perth Concert Hall general manager Andrew Bolt.

Picture by Laurie Benson: Perth Concert Hall general manager Andrew Bolt

Mr Bolt visited Albany last week ahead of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s two performances at the concert hall later this month, the first of which is to be broadcast live to 12 regional WA venues, including the AEC.

Visiting orchestras tour to Australia as part of a world orchestra series developed by the Perth Theatre Trust and the Perth Concert Hall, in conjunction with the Sydney Opera House and Queensland Performing Arts Centre.

The AEC took part in the world’s first live simulcast for its soft opening in November last year, when the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance at the concert hall was broadcasted to eight regional WA venues.

This month’s simulcast has grown to include the Moora Performance Arts Centre, Margaret River Cultural Centre, Merredin’s Cummins Theatre and an outdoor cinema setting at the Novotel Ningaloo Resort in Exmouth.

“We’ve decided that we will bring the very best symphony orchestras into this country, orchestras that have never been to this country before,” Mr Bolt said.

“Having gone to the financial trouble and organisational trouble, we feel that it’s important that we share the experience with as many people as we can. It’s only in recent years that technology has really allowed us to.”

The shared experience comes with the blessing of the Vienna Philharmonic itself, who have waived any broadcasting fees on the condition that tickets to the screenings be offered free.

Tickets to the AEC’s broadcast were booked out within a week of being made available, with Bunbury’s New Lyric Theatre quickly following suit.

So successful was last year’s Berlin Philharmonic broadcast that Eastern States venues are now attempting the same feat, with the Queensland Performing Arts Centre set to broadcast its performance to the State’s regional venues next month.

Mr Bolt said the venues were working hard to ensure the evening presented a fully fledged “concert experience, not a broadcast”.

“We make sure that everybody around the State has the same concert experience as you would have if you went to the Perth Concert Hall,” he said. “We don’t turn the cameras off in Perth until the last musician has left the stage.”

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