Acoustic characterisation and quality assessment of Cremona's Ponchielli theatre in the post-epidemic period.

After a fire destroyed the previous wooden building in Cremona, the Ponchielli theatre was constructed there in 1808. The shape of the interior design, architecture and floor plan is reminiscent of the famous Teatro alla Scala, a masterpiece by architect Piermarini. The Ponchielli theatre captures the typical attributes of an Italian opera theatre from the nineteenth century. In this research, acoustic measurements were conducted for the full hall and a few chosen boxes in accordance with the ISO 3382-1 standard. In-depth comparisons between the primary acoustic parameters obtained from the measurements and acoustic simulations of a three-dimensional model depicting the performing arts space have been made. The study of the Ponchielli theatre's acoustic behaviour is the focus of this paper. Furthermore, how the number of audiences in the post-Covid-19 period affects the quality of musical performances in the theatre is discussed. The simulation results indicate that the number of audiences has no impact on the acoustic characteristics of the theatre. The Ponchielli theatre's acoustic quality, while not excellent, can still be regarded as a competitive venue for the performance of speech and music, according to a comparison with four other theatres that have satisfactory acoustic quality.