applied

sciences
Article
How Much Does the Variety of Scenery and the Different
Percentages of Audience Occupancy Affect the Indoor
Acoustics at the National Theater of Zagreb?
Lamberto Tronchin 1, * and Antonella Bevilacqua 2

1 DA, Department of Architecture, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy

2 DIA, Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy;
antonella.bevilacqua@unipr.it
* Correspondence: lamberto.tronchin@unibo.it

Abstract: The performance of opera and the post-pandemic slow recovery of the public, who have
been hesitant to return to frequent attendance of cultural venues, has inspired the authors to analyze
the acoustic behavior of the National Theater of Zagreb, by reflecting five specific scenarios. Starting
from acoustic measurements undertaken inside the National Theater of Zagreb without any scenery
in place, this research study compares the main acoustic parameters simulated with the scenery of
Tosca in three different acts. A numerical model was realized by reproducing the geometry and the
architectural features of this historic performance arts space. Before the simulations, the absorption
coefficients applied to the digital entities were calibrated with the values gathered from the recorded
impulse responses. After the calibration process, the acoustic simulations were also carried out with
the presence of an audience at two percentages of occupancy.

Citation: Tronchin, L.; Bevilacqua, A. Keywords: cultural heritage; acoustic simulations; opera theater; Zagreb National Theater; scenery
How Much Does the Variety of
Scenery and the Different
Percentages of Audience Occupancy
Affect the Indoor Acoustics at the 1. Introduction
National Theater of Zagreb? Appl. Sci. The National Theater of Zagreb is considered to be the oldest and most important
2022, 12, 6500. https://doi.org/ cultural center in Croatia due to its three activities: opera, theater, and ballet. The artistic
10.3390/app12136500
production is so fruitful; an average of 220 shows are performed in a season [1]. Because
Academic Editor: Giuseppe of its national influence over a wide territory, the National Theater of Zagreb is used to
Lacidogna promote a seasonal program which is broadly varied, including the performance of local
artists representative of different styles and historical periods [2]. Nonetheless, the recitals
Received: 6 June 2022
of classic and contemporary masterpieces attract the biggest audiences.
Accepted: 23 June 2022
Furthermore, the National Theater of Zagreb hosts foreign theatrical companies on
Published: 27 June 2022
its stage, and has become one of the centers that supports the social and cultural life
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral of the Croatian capital city. Presently, it is part of international projects, such as the
with regard to jurisdictional claims in World Theater Festival, promoted by the European Community, FEDORA, and other
published maps and institutional affil- international organizations [1].
iations. It is a good practice to interconnect different arts as essential parts of the life of
a theater. In particular, this paper studies how different types of scenery can affect the
acoustic behavior of the hall, since operas have been always performed and appreciated
by the Croatian audience at the National Theater of Zagreb [3]. The volumetric shape
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
of the main hall, composed of stalls geometrically inscribed into a square and with the
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
upper gallery exceeding the length of the elevated boxes, allows a uniform distribution
distributed under the terms and
of the values related to the main acoustic parameters [4]. Furthermore, the inclination of
conditions of the Creative Commons
the ceiling along the main axis is beneficial to avoid any focusing effect that could affect
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// specific areas of the volume.
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ An acoustic survey was undertaken inside this historical building to record the impulse
4.0/). responses (IRs) at different positions across the seated areas. The acoustic measurements

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12136500 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 2 of 14

were used to calibrate a digital model built up by following the architectural features of the
National Theater of Zagreb. After the calibration process, the support of different digital
models reflecting the conditions of all the selected scenarios contributes to deepening the
analysis of the acoustics along with the presence of an audience simulated at different
occupancy percentages.
This methodology follows the practice of the acoustic simulation process in order to
have the accuracy of the results related to the different scenarios herein considered. The
limitations of this research study could be represented by the simplification of the 3D
models and by the employment of only one software for the acoustic simulations. However,
not so much difference can be found between the digital reconstruction and the real design
of the theater, given the linearity of a neoclassical style dominating the overall shape,
except for the statues’ profile, which can contribute to producing very negligible changes.
Regarding the numerical computation, the results of the acoustic parameters obtained by
simulation could be compared with the simulated values gathered using another software.
Nonetheless, the accuracy of the simulation using only one software is still considered of
high quality level since the application of the absorption coefficients has been calibrated
with the measured results of the main acoustic parameters.

2. History of the Croatian National Theater

The first fixed theater in Zagreb was built in 1834 and was financed by the rich
landowner K. Stanković. The construction of the theater started after the donation of land
located at the corner of St Mark Square and Freudenreich street, which was private property
until 1851. The design of the project was assigned to the Italian architects Cragnolini (i.e.,
father Cristoforo and son Antonio) who let the neoclassical style prevail, with a capacity of
750 seats [1].
The first exhibitions were exclusively performed by Germans. Finally, in 1840, the
theatrical company Novi Sad produced the heroic comedy by Ivan Kukuljevic with au-
tochthone and Turkish artists for the plays [1].
In 1848 part of the national theater, specifically the hall reserved for ceremonial bal-
lets, became the house of the Croatian Parliament until 1895, when the theater has been
transformed into administrative offices, used also for public assemblies [1].
The influence of new theater constructions in other cities in Croatia (e.g., Zara,
Dubrovnik, Spalato, etc.) heightened the need for the construction of a new theater in the
capital city. On this basis, an architectural project was already designed in 1871 but any
execution of the works followed afterward [1]. When a heavy earthquake damaged the
existing theater of Zagreb, the committee of the theater, led by the writer M. Derenčin, in
1880 started a campaign to fund the erection of a new theater, an idea that was approved
the year after by Emperor Franz Joseph I. A long debate took place over the location of the
new construction and it was decided by Khuen-Héderváry that the theater should be in
the center of the city, in the middle of the area dedicated to the expo, along the existing
Republike Hrvatske road, as shown in Figure 1.
The new project was conducted by the Viennese architects Helmer and Fellner who
ran the site from spring of 1894 to October 1895. The architects involved all local artisans
who numbered more than 200 when starting the construction [5]. The curtain separating the
main hall from the fly tower was realized by Vlaho Bukovac, while the painting decorations
of the hall were carried out by A.D. Goltz.
During the 125 years of its life, the National Theater of Zagreb carried out two cam-
paigns of restoration works: in 1937 the electrical devices for meeting the safety regulations
were installed, and between 1967 and 1969 the restoration works improved the west wing
of the building [1].
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 3 of 14

Figure 1. (a,b) Views of the National Theater of Zagreb during its construction. Provision courtesy
from Hrvatsko Narodno Katalište u Zagrebu.

3. Architectural Features and Characteristics

The National Theater of Zagreb has a capacity of 765 seats: 345 in the stalls and
420 seats on the elevated boxes and top balcony. The geometry of the plan layout is a U-
shape inscribed into a square with a side dimension of 17.6 m, as shown in Figure 2. The
main hall is crowned by a decorated ceiling, with a chandelier hung in the center of the
vault, as shown in Figure 3. The golden walls clearly contrast against the brilliant white
columns and against the oxidized-green copper roofing, as this was the effect that the
painter would like to transmit [6].

Figure 2. Internal organization of the National theater of Zagreb: plan layout of ground floor (a) and
longitudinal section (b).
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 4 of 14

Figure 3. View of the main hall from the stage.

The stage has dimensions of 24.1 × 15 m (L × W) and has a turntable platform of

8.5 m radius. The proscenium arch is 11 m wide and the orchestra of up to 80 musicians can
be allocated onto three available levels: at the height of the stage floor, at the same level of
the stalls floor, or 1.5 m lower than the latest in a proper pit. The partition terminations of
the boxes in the first order are statues representing the Muses, but this kind of decoration is
not repeated on the upper balcony floor where floral motifs are instead.
The reproduction of the National Theater of Zagreb was carried out digitally with
a model created using the software AutoCAD. All the entities inside the model have been
drawn as 3D faces, to be simplified from the complexity of the architectural features, as
shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Digital model of the National Theater of Zagreb: axonometric view of the entire complex.

The 3D model is characterized by a total number of 16,660 entities, covering a sur-

face area equal to 6413 m2 , and having a volume of the main hall (including balconies)
approximated to 4760 m3 .
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 5 of 14

4. Acoustic Measurements
Acoustic measurements were carried out inside the National Theater of Zagreb to
understand the acoustic response of the hall based on the standard requirements as stated
in ISO 3382-1 [7], considered the international reference standard for objective acoustic
parameters. During the surveys, thermos-hygrometric conditions were taken into consider-
ation [8]. The equipment employed for the survey is the following:
• Equalized omnidirectional loudspeaker (Look Line);
• Binaural dummy head (Neumann KU-100);
• B-Format microphone (Sennheiser Ambeo);
• Omnidirectional microphone (Bruel&Kjaer 4165);
• 32-channel spherical array (Mh Acoustic em32 Eigenmike® ).
The sound source was placed at 1.6 m from the finished floor, simulating the actor
singing on the stage, while the receivers were installed at 1.2 m across the stalls and inside
a few selected boxes to cover the audience areas. Given the axial symmetry of the volume,
the receiver points selected for measurements were considered enough to understand
the acoustic response of the hall. The excitation signal feeding the sound source was an
Exponential Sine Sweep (ESS) [9] with a duration of 15 s in a uniform sound pressure
level from 40 Hz and 20 kHz. The employment of an ESS signal feeding the loudspeaker
instead of a white/pink noise is due to a good level of signal to noise ratio (S/N), other
than to minimize the variability of directivity and repeatability that other types of sound
sources (e.g., balloon pops, clapper boards) are more subject to [10]. This follows the
reference standard to employ an excitation signal that should have sufficient energy at each
relevant octave band. The measurements were undertaken in unoccupied conditions and
with the stage completely empty [11]. Figure 5 shows the measurement positions of the
instrumentations across the sitting areas.

Figure 5. Scheme of the equipment location during the acoustic survey.

During the post-processing analysis, the impulse responses (IRs) can be obtained by
the convolution of the recorded sine sweep signals (measured in the hall) with the inverse
filter generation. Once we obtained the IRs, the acoustic parameters can be calculated using
Aurora [12], a plugin suitable for Audition 3.0.

5. Acoustic Calibration
Before analyzing the effect of different types of scenery across the audience areas,
the 3D model was simplified from the complexity of the architectural features, as shown
in Figure 6. The layers were grouped and therefore the 3D model was exported in DXF
format, to be ready for the acoustic calibration of the absorption coefficients related to the
different materials. The software Ramsete makes calculations based on the principles of
ray-tracing geometrical acoustics characterized by a triangular-base pyramid spreading [13].
This principle characterizes Ramsete with other software used for acoustic simulations,
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 6 of 14

since many of them are based on conical spreading, with the risk of having bugs but at
high degree of reflections. The other advantage of Ramsete is that it does not suffer the
calculations time of up to 4,000 receivers inserted into the model, since the traceable time is
invariant. Rather, the high number of receivers is linked to the calculation time involved in
the spatial distribution of the acoustic parameters.
The source on the stage and the microphone positions were reproduced at the same
location of the real measurements, with the addition of 362 receivers created in Ramsete,
homogeneously distributed across the seats of the main hall [14]. Since Ramsete can
uneventfully calculate the response of up to 4000 microphones, the time computation by
the software does not suffer for the number of receivers inserted into the model.

Figure 6. Digital model of the National Theater of Zagreb: perspectival view of the main hall.

Table 1 indicates the absorption and scattering coefficients for all the materials con-
sidered in the digital model, considered to be the result of both calibration process and
extensive experience on acoustic simulations carried out for other Opera houses [15].

Table 1. Surface, absorption and scattering coefficients of the materials considered in the model of
the National Theater of Zagreb.

Area Absorption Coefficients—Octave Frequency Bands (Hz)

Materials Scattering
(m2 ) 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k
Solid wood—Boxes perimetral walls 2766 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.10 0.10 0.05
Wood—Boxes party walls 247 0.29 0.29 0.73 0.88 1.00 1.00 0.05
Timber wood—Boxes floor 303 0.05 0.05 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.59 0.05
Floating floor—Stalls 200 0.29 0.29 0.73 0.88 1.00 1.00 0.05
Floating floor—Stage 878 0.64 0.71 0.58 0.52 0.50 0.72 0.05
Solid wood—Parapets 302 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.07 0.06 0.05
Upholstery—Seats 192 0.65 0.80 0.90 1.00 0.99 0.94 0.05
Light Wood—Ceiling 1140 0.23 0.30 0.29 0.30 0.35 0.43 0.35
Doors 55 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.10 0.10 0.05
Wood—Stairs 223 0.53 0.59 0.39 0.35 0.50 0.72 0.05

The measured and calibrated results were compared and tuned until the difference
between the two types of values is minimized to not exceed 5% across all the octave bands.
Figure 7 shows the comparison of the main acoustic parameters, where the values shall be
considered the average of all the receivers [16]. The spectrum bandwidth herein analyzed
 Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 7 of 14

in octaves ranges between 125 Hz and 4 kHz. This methodology complies with a good
practice since the very low (e.g., 16 Hz, 31.5 Hz) or very high (10 kHz, 16 kHz) frequency
bands can be affected by distortion, as they are microphone dependent. Hence, the results
at these latest octaves cannot be trusted and can be excluded by the acoustic analysis.
Details of the acoustic parameters being selected for the calibration are described
as follows:
• Early Decay Time (EDT), defined in seconds as this is the metric unit, represents
the time related to the decay curve that the sound pressure level takes to drop by
10 dB after the interruption of the sound signal. It is a parameter variable with
microphone position.
• Reverberation Time (T20 ), also defined in seconds as this is the metric unit, is the
time related to the sound pressure level to drop by 20 dB after the interruption of the
sound signal. Using Sabine’s equation, this parameter is sensitive to the volume size
of the room and the quantity of absorption applied to the surface areas. Since the
absorption of materials varies with frequency, the reverberation time varies according
to the considered frequency bands.
• Speech clarity index (C50 ), with dB as the metric unit, represents the descriptor of
speech goodness based on the ration of the energy arriving to the receiver within the
first 50 milliseconds and the energy arriving in the following instants.
• Definition (D50 ) can be calculated based on the energy arriving to the receiver within
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW the first 50 ms and the entire energy of the signal bouncing inside a room until 8 of 15its
total dissipation.

2.0 2.0

1.5 1.5
EDT, s

T20, s

1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5

Measure Model Calibration Measure Model Calibration

0.0 0.0
100 1000 10000 100 1000 10000
Frequency, Hz Frequency, Hz
(a) (b)
6 1.0

0.8
4

0.6
C50, dB

D50

2
0.4

0
0.2

Measure Model Calibration Measure Model Calibration

-2 0.0
100 1000 10000 100 1000 10000
Frequency, Hz Frequency, Hz
(c) (d)
Figure
Figure7.7.Model
Model calibration
calibrationbased onon
based main
main acoustic parameters:
acoustic early
parameters: decay
early time
decay (a),
time reverberation
(a), reverberation
time (b), clarity index (c), and definition (d).
time (b), clarity index (c), and definition (d).

Details
Figureof7 the acoustic
indicates parameters
a small being selected
drift between for thein
the two curves calibration
each graph,aredue
described as
to physical
follows:
factors affecting the survey, such as the thermo-hygrometric variance. In addition, the
• simplification
Early DecayofTime
the model
(EDT),and consequently
defined a reduced
in seconds as this number of surface
is the metric unit, areas, which
represents the
the
time related to the decay curve that the sound pressure level takes to drop by 10 dB
after the interruption of the sound signal. It is a parameter variable with microphone
position.
• Reverberation Time (T20), also defined in seconds as this is the metric unit, is the time
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 8 of 14

absorption coefficients are applied to, contributes to making a further difference between
the measured and calibrated curves since they are crucial input data. Nonetheless, scope
of this paper is to highlight any difference, in terms of acoustic parameters, between the
three acts of Tosca and also the difference occurring by simulating Act I without and with
different percentages of audience occupancy [17].

6. Acoustic Simulations
After the calibration of the model based on measured IRs, the acoustic simulations
were performed with the scenery of Tosca, considered for all three acts. The source was
placed in the same location of the measurements while 371 receivers were homogeneously
distributed across the stalls and inside the balconies. The choice of having a high number
of microphones in the model was due to the increased accuracy to be adopted for the
spatial distribution of the acoustic parameters across the layout, without any concern for
the calculation time since the traceable time in Ramsete is invariant.
The acoustic simulations consider five specific scenarios, as summarized as follows:
• Act I of Tosca, no audience;
• Act II of Tosca, no audience;
• Act III of Tosca, no audience;
• Act I of Tosca, 50% occupancy;
• Act I of Tosca, 100% occupancy.
These acoustic simulations are mainly focused on how much difference the acoustic
parameters make with many actors are on the stage (a maximum of 40 elements) and when
only the main characters (one or two) play on; furthermore, the research studies put in
relationship the outcomes obtained by simulating the Act I of Tosca without any audience
and with the presence of audience at different percentage of occupancy. Since the results as
indicated in Section 7 are shown to be very comparable between all the three acts, only Act
I was chosen for simulating the different percentages of occupancy. The scenery of Tosca
was analyzed since it represents one of the most popular shows performed at the National
Theater of Zagreb.

Scenery of Tosca
The scenery of Tosca selected for the acoustic simulations is related to the venue
recently realized for the Teatro Massimo of Palermo in April 2022. For this occasion, the
scenery of Tosca was directed by Mario Pontiggia and designed by Francesco Zito. One of
its characteristics consists of the usage of printed curtains in combination with wooden
prompts to define the space for acting [18,19]. In particular, the description of the sceneries
related to the three acts is given as follows:
• Act I: installation of the altar framed by squared columns and delimited by a parapet.
Another piece of furniture is composed of a statue on a pedestal and a little stair to
reach an elevated painting. A carpet was installed in the center of the stage and the
space is limited by printed curtains, representing the interior design of a church, as
shown in Figure 8. This is the only part of the Opera where 40 actors are performing
simultaneously on the stage.
• Act II: installation of wooden prompts for the doors’ frames and the squared columns.
The printed curtains simulate the decorated walls of a church while two tables and
a few chairs with a baldachin are part of the furniture, as shown in Figure 9.
• Act III: installation of a small double-ramp open staircase decorated with the symbol
of St Peter’s cathedral. The whole space is surrounded by printed curtains, with the
presence of wooden prompts only for the squared columns. Objects like luggage and
boxes are spread on the stage floor, as shown in Figure 10.
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 9 of 14

Figure 8. Act I of Tosca at the Teatro Massimo of Palermo (2022): installation (a) and final scenery
during the performance (b).

Figure 9. Act II of Tosca at the Teatro Massimo of Palermo (2022): installation (a) and final scenery
during the performance (b).
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 10 of 14

Figure 10. Act III of Tosca at the Teatro Massimo of Palermo (2022): installation (a) and final scenery
during the performance (b).

To make clearer the geometry of all the sceneries, Figure 11 shows how they were built
digitally and used for acoustic simulations. In particular, the scenery of Act I is composed
of two pairs of parallel prompts of different lengths that cross diagonally the acting area.
The altar was faithfully reproduced as well as the stairs where the painting stands on.

Figure 11. Reconstruction of the scenery of Tosca realized for the Teatro Massimo of Palermo (2022):
Act I (a), Act II (b), Act III (c).

The scenery of Act II is composed of only the large diagonal prompts, while the frontal
background was created with a further two frames that create a perspective illusion.
The scenery of Act III was created with double-slope stairs placed in front of the
background curtain and with the diagonal prompts with a smaller length, placed on
both sides.
The absorption coefficients attributed to the additional digital entities are related to the
actors on the stage, assumed to be wearing heavy traditional clothes, and to the audience,
which are summarized in Table 2. Both actors and audience were simplified to rectangle
surfaces in the model, as shown in Figure 11.
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 11 of 14

Table 2. Surface, absorption and scattering coefficients of the additional materials considered during
the acoustic simulations.

Absorption Coefficients—Octave Frequency Bands (Hz)

Materials Area (m2 ) Scattering
125 250 500 1k 2k 4k
33 (Act I)
Heavy cloth—Actors 6 (Act II) 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.05
6 (Act III)
51 (50% capacity)
Audience 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.05
102 (100% capacity)

7. Data Analysis and Results

Graphs in Figure 12 show the results of the simulations related to all the different
scenarios, considered to be the average values of all the receivers inserted in the model.
The virtual sound source in the digital model has been installed in the center of the stage,
where most of the time the action takes place and simulates the actor singing other than
to reproduce the location of the sound source placed during the acoustic survey. The
characteristics of the sound source has been simulated to be provided of 1W at 1m, equal to
a sound pressure level of 110 dBA.

Figure 12. Simulated results of the main acoustic parameters: early decay time (a), reverberation time
(b), clarity index (c), and definition (d).

Graph (a) in Figure 12 indicates that no difference was obtained between the scenery
of the three different acts, except for 2 kHz and 4 kHz, where EDT values related to Acts I
and II are slightly higher than values related to Act I [20]. However, by considering only
Act I, the values obtained by simulating the presence of the audience at 50% and 100%
occupancy are lowered by up to 0.1 s at low frequencies, while no difference has been
found at high octaves [21].
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 12 of 14

In terms of reverberation time, the difference of the T20 values among all the five
scenarios, as shown in graph (b), is very minimal such that it can be considered negligible.
However, the T20 value at 500 Hz equal to 0.9 s is considered optimal for an Opera theater
with this volume size [22].
Graph of Figure 12c indicates that the speech clarity index is within the optimal values
at low frequencies, because it is between 0 and +2 dB [23], and is up to 4 dB above the
upper range limit. In addition, the C50 values related to all the acts have similar trends;
however, graph (c) shows an upward shift of 0.3 dB between values of Act II and III, and
a further upward shift of 0.4 dB between values of Act III and I. The simulations carried
out with the presence of the audience, although no variance has been found between 50%
and 100% occupancy, shift upward the curve of similar trend, to be 0.3 dB above the values
related to Act I [24].
The values of definition (D50 ), as shown in graph (d) of Figure 12 have been found to
be fluctuating between 0.5–0.6 at low frequencies and 0.75–0.85 at high-frequency bands,
meaning that the speech definition is considerably good inside the National Theater of
Zagreb, considered very suitable for Opera [25].
An alternative way of representation has been carried out in terms of spatial distribu-
tion. This is another output data that can be obtained with Ramsete software and it consists
of the contour levels describing the variation of the acoustic parameters across the audience
areas. The setup options allow the determination of the selected octave frequency band to
be analyzed other than the range limits of the values. On this basis, Figure 13 indicates two
examples of spatial distribution related to two acoustic parameters: the reverberation time
(T20 ) and the speech clarity index (C50 ), considered at 500 Hz and related to the scenery of
Act I without any audience.

Figure 13. Spatial distribution at 500 Hz of Act I without any audience, related to reverberation time
(a) and speech clarity index (b).

Figure 13 shows that the T20 is quite uniform across the plan, to be fluctuating around
0.96 s, with the right side slightly dropping to 0.93 s. In a similar way, the spatial distribution
of the C50 has been found to be around 4.5 dB across the stalls and to be up to 6 dB in the
central rows of the upper gallery.

8. Discussions
The acoustic survey undertaken inside the National Theater of Zagreb was the starting
point for the analysis of the acoustic behavior of such an important cultural heritage. The
geometrical description of the entire architecture, along with the details of the interior
design, is very important for the analysis of the results obtained by the acoustic simulations.
The five selected scenarios, representing the scenery of Tosca over three acts with the effect
of the audience occupancy confirm how the acoustics of the National Theater of Zagreb
is within or close to the optimal range limits set up for opera houses [26]. The outcomes
revealed no difference in terms of values between scenarios with 50% and 100% occupancy,
respectively [27]. This shall be encouraging to both artists and public that put all their effort
into making every show successful. Tosca has been widely performed inside the National
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 6500 13 of 14

Theater of Zagreb, found to be a success, and is loved by the Croatians, who also love
performances created by local artists.
Many other operas could be simulated other than Tosca inside the National Theater
of Zagreb. It is important to faithfully reproduce the geometry and the disposition of
the prompts across the stage along with the absorption coefficients of the materials to be
applied to the surface areas of the digital model. On this basis, future research studies will
be focused on the acoustic behavior of the main hall when ballets are performed on the
stage and the orchestra play in the pit. This configuration will allow an understanding of
how the values of the main acoustic parameters vary if considered that the pit will be the
location of the sound source. For this future scope, acoustic simulations could even include
the scenario of modeling a curtain that excludes the volume of the fly tower.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, A.B.; methodology, L.T.; software, A.B.; validation, L.T.;
formal analysis, A.B.; investigation, A.B.; resources, L.T.; data curation, A.B.; writing—original
draft preparation, A.B.; writing—review and editing, L.T. and A.B..; visualization, A.B.; supervision,
L.T.; project administration, L.T.; funding acquisition, L.T. All authors have read and agreed to the
published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: The authors would like to acknowledge the students of Applied Acoustics
Course at School of Architecture of University of Bologna for their collaboration for this research, and
Hrvatsko Narodno Kazalište u Zagrebu for the accessibility to the theatre.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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