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Bregenz Festival Expands Use of Riedel Technologies to Enhance Open-Air Opera Productions
- 20 November, 2025
Inset: Clemens Wannemacher, Head of Sound for the Bregenz Festival.
GER: Riedel Communications announce that the Bregenz Festival has significantly expanded its use of Riedel’s cutting-edge communications and media distribution technologies to support its world-renowned lake stage productions. Leveraging Riedel’s Bolero wireless intercoms, Artist digital matrix intercom system, and MediorNet real-time media network, the festival has transformed its technical operations
to deliver seamless coordination and immersive audience experiences.
“Riedel’s technology has become absolutely essential to our operations,” said Clemens Wannemacher, Head of Sound for the Bregenz Festival. “Every department, from lighting and stage management to props, relies on Bolero for clear, reliable communication. The Artist system gives us the flexibility we need to manage complex routing across multiple teams, and MediorNet has transformed how we handle video distribution. It’s not just about transmitting signals - it’s about creating a seamless connection between the conductor and performers, managing simultaneous rehearsals, and adapting to the dynamic nature of live production. These tools have allowed us to push the boundaries of what’s possible on the lake stage.”
Famous for its spectacular open-air opera performances on the lake stage with seating for 6,700 guests, the Bregenz Festival strives to replicate the acoustics of an opera house in an outdoor environment.
For its production of Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber, the sound team deployed 400 loudspeakers
and 24 subwoofers, supported by advanced mixing consoles and directional audio systems to achieve
precise sound localization and immersive effects.
Managed by the festival’s in-house sound department, the deployment includes over 60 Bolero
beltpacks, more than 20 antennas, five Artist frames (including 1024, 128, 64, and two 32-port frames),
and a comprehensive MediorNet video distribution system. The Artist intercom system provides flexible
IP-based communication, while MediorNet facilitates real-time video distribution, including conductor-to-singer visual links and dynamic multiview configurations. These technologies enable the Bregenz Festival to maintain precise communication across departments and ensure high-quality audio-visual transmission between performers and conductors, with support for simultaneous rehearsals and events. The festival plans to continue scaling its Riedel systems to support increasingly complex productions and enhance operational efficiency across its venues.
Bregenz Festival has expanded its use of Riedel’s cutting-edge communications and media distribution technologies
to support its world-renowned lake stage productions.
Serving as the system integrator, PKE played a central role implementing Riedel’s advanced media and communications infrastructure within the festival’s stage management system, which was also supplied and installed by PKE. Thanks to the integrator’s extensive expertise, the cross-departmental deployment and interoperability of the Riedel systems were seamlessly achieved, fully meeting the festival’s complex technical and artistic requirements.
“Bregenz Festival represents the pinnacle of technical artistry in live performance,” said
Christoph Thalinger, Sales Manager Austria, Riedel Communications. “We’re proud to see our
technologies play such a central role in enabling the festival’s creative vision. The integration of
Bolero, Artist, and MediorNet not only enhances operational efficiency but also empowers the
team to deliver breathtaking experiences to audiences. It’s a testament to how scalable,
interoperable systems can support even the most demanding production environments.”
Riedel Communications is a leading provider of live production tools in the worlds of media, sports, and entertainment. The company's hard- and software solutions span from distributed video and audio networks over intercom and replay solutions to WAN and MPLS applications. Thanks to Riedel's holistic approach, its three business units - Product Division, Managed Technology Division, and Networks Division - can leverage powerful synergies to provide flexible infrastructures, tools, and services for both fixed and temporary installations around the globe, enabling Riedel customers to run even the most complex projects on-site, remotely, or in the cloud. Riedel is locally headquartered in Santa Clarita, California, with its global headquarters in Wuppertal, Germany. Riedel employs over 1,000 people in 30 locations throughout
Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Americas.
