Alcons Audio Closes Historic Chapter with Soldier of Orange

Chiel Blaauw, Jeroen ten Brinke and Jos Diergaarde (l-to-r)

On July 12, 2026, the final curtain fell on *Soldier of Orange – The Musical*. After almost sixteen years, 3,967 performances, four million visitors and 29 casts, the longest-running production in Dutch theatre history came to an end. From its Royal Premiere on 30 October 2010, an extensive Alcons pro-ribbon system played a central role in its exceptional audience experience.

Set during the Second World War, the musical tells the true story of Dutch resistance fighter Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema and his fellow students, who faced life-changing choices following the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940. The production was staged in the purpose-built TheaterHangaar at the former Valkenburg naval airbase, a location with direct historical significance to the story. On 10 May 1940, the airfield was among the first Dutch military targets attacked by German forces, marking the beginning of the invasion that brought the Netherlands into the Second World War.

The production concept was unique. Raked seating for 1,100 people was installed on a 30-metre / 100-foot-diameter turntable in the centre of the hangar. Individual stage sets were positioned around the perimeter, with the audience and a 180-degree video projection revolving from scene to scene. The actors moved between the sets, maintaining continuity as the audience turned.

The scale and realism of the production extended far beyond a conventional theatre experience. The decor included highly immersive, real-world environments, most notably a full-scale beach complete with sand, waves, water, and even rain effects, creating a strikingly lifelike coastal setting inside the hangar. In one scene, actors rode their full-size motorcycles around the rotating audience. For the final scene, the hangar doors opened to reveal an outdoor setting—regardless of the weather—featuring a real Douglas DC-3 “Dakota” aircraft. The scene recreated Queen Wilhelmina’s return to the Netherlands after the country’s liberation, bringing the production to a spectacular and historically resonant conclusion.

Throughout almost sixteen years of intensive use, I did not have to replace a single loudspeaker in any of the LR14 arrays. The system proved to be extremely reliable, while maintaining the same consistently high sound quality throughout the complete production run.”, Jos Diergaarde, sound engineer for Soldier of Orange the Musical

Because of the immense weight of the rotating construction, the sound system could not be mounted on the turntable. Instead, the loudspeakers remained in fixed positions around the auditorium. This meant that the audience continuously moved into and out of the coverage axes of the individual loudspeakers. The system therefore required exceptionally consistent on- and off-axis response. Tonal balance, localisation and speech intelligibility had to remain stable as the audience moved through the different coverage areas, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted transitions between scenes.

Sound designer Jeroen ten Brinke selected nearly 100 Alcons LR14 pro-ribbon line-array cabinets for the large surround system. The signals were distributed via an optical cable fitted to a dedicated drum system, allowing it to rotate through a cumulative 7,000 degrees without twisting or breaking.

Jos Diergaarde

Each scene featured a left-centre-right LR14 configuration with a double 15-inch subwoofer. Fourteen arrays were installed around the space and powered by 30 Alcons ALC4 2 x 2kW amplified loudspeaker controllers. As the seating revolved, the right-hand array of one scene became the left-hand array of the next. The LR14’s consistent voicing, phase response, controlled dispersion and ultra-low distortion were essential to making these transitions natural and lifelike. Its patented RBN401 pro-ribbon transducer also delivered the fast transient response and clarity required for natural vocal reproduction and high speech intelligibility.

“In this rare situation, with a revolving audience area moving past 14 fixed loudspeaker arrays, the Alcons system delivered an almost phase-neutral result,” said Jos Diergaarde, sound engineer for *Soldier of Orange – The Musical*, who had been involved with the production from the very beginning. “The clarity and intelligibility of the Alcons systems were exceptionally high, with a remarkable gain-before-feedback, which is essential for the reinforcement of voices in a musical. Over the years, I heard from many people who were genuinely impressed by the sound quality of the production. We were equally impressed by the extraordinary longevity of the entire system. Throughout almost sixteen years of intensive use, I did not have to replace a single loudspeaker in any of the LR14 arrays. The system proved to be extremely reliable, while maintaining the same consistently high sound quality throughout the complete production run.”

“It is very rewarding to see that the experimental and highly forward-looking sound design developed for this project was successfully realised and proven in practice with the Alcons pro-ribbon arrays,” added Jeroen ten Brinke. “The trust we placed in the Alcons systems has been fully validated, not only by their exceptional speech intelligibility and gain-before-feedback, but also by their faultless reliability, with not a single failure throughout years of intensive, almost daily use.”

one of three processing / amplification racks

The LR14 arrays and ALC4 amplified loudspeaker controllers delivered consistent performance throughout thousands of shows. For Alcons Audio, *Soldier of Orange – The Musical* remains an exceptional reference project, demonstrating how sound technology can provide seamless immersion, long-term reliability and uncompromised quality in one of the world’s most technically demanding theatrical productions.

Alcons Audio co-founder Tom Back commented: “As a Dutch manufacturer, we are extremely proud that an Alcons system was chosen for this impressive production from its very first performance. Soldier of Orange tells an important story from the Second World War and from our national history, while the combination of technical innovation, creativity and craftsmanship made it a truly unique experience for everyone involved.”

For more information visit: www.soldaatvanoranje.nl and www.audiodesigninternational.com 

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