Winspear Opera House

Personal project

We developed our acoustical design for the Winspear from the point of view of the audience and performers -- in the service of developing the drama and conveying emotion, the essence of great opera. Specific acoustical goals included: • Excellent loudness balance between singers and orchestra • Clarity of opera text • High degree of strength and impact of the sound • Resonance of orchestral sound and ability of singers to excite the room • Silent background – no mechanical and electrical noise, no disturbance from aircraft in the Love field flight path.

Our mission was to focus foremost on the best possible quality for opera, with additional flexibility and adjustment for the amplified musicals and concerts. The acoustics of the Winspear were to be complementary to the other halls in the Dallas Arts District: the Meyerson Symphony Center, the Wyly Theatre, Booker T Washington High School and the future City Performance Hall, which all fill other niches. A district with different spaces for different arts marks the maturing of a city for the arts. The Winspear’s opera, ballet and musicals will fill the role of lyric theatre in the arts district. Now the acoustical landscape includes different acoustical spaces optimised for different arts.