UK - Cirque du Soleil returned to London’s Royal Albert Hall (RAH) on 12 January for an eight-week run at the prestigious venue, bringing Luzia to Europe for the first time. Britannia Row Productions once again supplied the sound, continuing a relationship that has spanned almost two decades. Through the design, chorography and acrobatic elements that give Cirque du Soleil shows their character, Luzia takes audiences on a journey through imaginary Mexico. The name is derived from the Spanish words for light (luz) and rain (lluvia), two important themes in the show’s narrative. Britannia Row has supplied every Cirque du Soleil show at the RAH for the last 17-years. The company’s sales director Lez Dwight explained: “We were brought in mainly because the touring systems weren’t sufficient to cover the hall. Cirque came to us as we were local and
USA - Every year, the award-winning veteran audio production crew behind the Grammy Awards telecast strives to further raise the bar on the audio quality of ‘Music’s Biggest Night’. This year, in a first for the show, the audio team implemented a Dante network powered by Focusrite RedNet D64R 64-channel MADI bridges, Focusrite RedNet D16R AES-to-Dante interfaces and RedNet MP8R eight-channel mic pres and A/D converters to deliver the vocal performance and production wireless microphones to the house sound and broadcast audio mixing consoles. The show was broadcast live from the Staples Centrein downtown Los Angeles on the CBS network on 26 January 2. Performers included Best New Artist nominees Lizzo; Billie Eilish; and Lil Nas X, as well as Tyler, the Creator; H.E.R.; Gary Clark Jr. with the Roots; and Demi Lovato, among many others. The new AoIP transport sch
Estonia - "Now our students will be able to have a taste of their future lives as creators, and practice on big stages,” declared Professor Ivari Ilja, rector of Tallinn’s Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre on the opening of the school’s new concert and performance centre in late 2019. Students will have their talents nurtured at the school’s new 12m Euro concert and performance centre. Among the benefits it offers aspiring actors and musicians is a state-of-the-art stage lighting system that features 50 Chauvet Professional Ovation F-265WW high output Fresnel fixtures supplied and installed by RGB Baltic OÜ. At the heart of the 6,000sq.m concert and performance facility is the 482-seat concert hall, which serves as a platform from which the institute's promising rising musical stars to demonstrate their talents. Here, 34 Ovation fixtures provide front and
USA - At the end of its regular season of Shakespeare in the Park, New York’s Public Theatre stages an open-air production at Central Park’s 1,800-seat open-air Delacorte Theatre. This past season, the story of Hercules was presented, a theatrical pageant brought to life by some 200 performers with a lighting design by Tony-award winning lighting designer Tyler Micoleau. The designer turned to Elation Professional’s multi-use Proteus Hybrid luminaire to provide visual impact in the outdoor environment. Micoleau had worked on two Shakespeare shows in Central Park earlier in the summer, but it was a very different plot he knew he needed for Hercules. “The musical Hercules, in a theatre as large as the Delacorte in Central Park, required (pun intended) very muscular lighting approaches,” he comments. “The Elation Proteus Hybrid provided just th
USA - For Callas in Concert, opera singer Maria Callas was brought back to the stage via hologram, 40 years after her passing. A live orchestra accompanied digital remastered recordings of Callas for the production, which presented FOH and recording engineer Howard ‘Howie’ Lindeman with a unique challenge. Since the show was focused around the visual of Callas on stage, and the hologram system used to project her image, Lindeman needed to find a low-profile microphone that would not be obtrusive on-stage, while still providing the highest audio quality for the live orchestral instruments. Lindeman turned to the 4099 Instrument Microphone from DPA Microphones because of its sound, lightweight design and compact size of the instrument mic clips. In all, Lindeman and his team deployed a total of 27 4099 Instrument Microphones (with mic clips) for the 14 violin
Columbia - Teatro Colsubsidio Roberto Arias Perez is a 1,000-seater venue opened in 1981 in central Bogota that has established itself at the centre of quality live entertainment, culture and performing arts. It’s renowned for high production values and imaginative shows offering a lively mix of concerts, musicals and classical performances. The theatre has recently purchased its first Robe moving lights - 10 Pointes and 10 x Spiiders. Added to the house lighting rig, these have already started making a difference to how shows can be lit and presented. The theatre is owned by a large commercial enterprise and independently run, and the new Robes were part of a general lighting upgrade that is ongoing to improve the technology and the levels of production on offer. The upgrade also includes several LED fixtures, and before these new fixtures, they had six older
USA - Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze has been a staple of San Francisco’s Pier 39 tourist area for over a decade. When the original lighting fixtures installed for the attraction’s opening began to fail, the venue’s resident ‘light artist’ chose ADJ units to replace them. This not only completely rejuvenated the look of the attraction, but also provided a wealth of creative potential for generating new looks and effects through colour mixing and DMX control. Pier 39 is a popular shopping and entertainment centre built on a pier close to the famous Fisherman’s Wharf district in San Francisco. Located on the second floor of the complex, Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze opened in 2009. It is an immersive attraction featuring a labyrinth of small mirrored rooms. Despite its popularity, the owners of the maze are committed to investing in new technology and ef
France - The style and panache that has made The Village Outlet so popular throughout the Isère department was on full display at a recent celebratory event at the outdoor retail centre in Villefontaine, 40 minutes outside Lyon. Adding colour and glamour to the occasion was a lively L&DB lighting design that featured Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Wash fixtures and Geyser P7 atmospherics. “Our goal was to blanket the area in colour to support the spirit of the event,” says Romain Plantier, CEO of L&DB. “The Maverick MK2 Wash excelled in this regard. We also relied on its zoom feature to tighten the beam and create dramatic effects against the fog from the two Geyser P7 units we had on site. The powerful jet and the colorization of the smoke that we got from the Geysers provided a striking effect.” L&DB used six Maverick MK2 Wash fixtures at The
USA - When the ninth Annual NFL Honours was held the day before Super Bowl LIV, lighting designer Jon Kusner selected a complement of Ayrton Diablo LED profile luminaires from PRG to supplement the house lights. The awards presentation by the National Football League honoured players from the 2019 season. It was hosted by Steve Harvey and pre-recorded for same-day broadcast on FOX. The venue for the show was the Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Adrienne Arsht Centre in Miami. The Diablo fixtures were the first Ayrton luminaires to be used by Kusner, a member of the Los Angeles lighting design co-op, 22 Degrees. Kusner mounted 14 Diablo on the balcony rail to backlight the audience and act as a stage wash when crowds filled the set and follow-spot traffic was compromised. “The balcony rail typically holds conventional fixtures,” he notes. “The lights we chose
Slovenia - Croatian singer-songwriter and actress Severina played four major arena concerts in the Balkans this fall - at Split and Zagreb in Croatia, Belgrade in Serbia and culminating at the Dvorana Stožice in Ljubljana, Slovenia - which were lit by Slovenian LD Crt Birsa who added over 150 Robe moving lights to the lighting design for the three concerts in Croatia and Slovenia. Crt, whose work is well known internationally was to light these four special shows for the superstar. Talks originally started back in April 2019 when Severina invited him, set designer Greta Godnic and show director Nejc Levstik to submit ideas. They asked Den Barca of ThenVision to join the creative team and work on the video design and visuals. “It was a complicated design and setup,” commented Crt, who was delighted when his initial lighting scheme proposal was accepted. “We had a
Argentina - The Teatro Astral in Buenos Aires relies on an Allen & Heath dLive digital mixing system for the launch of the Broadway musical, Kinky Boots, which saw its opening night in January. The large-capacity venue accommodates up to 1,200 people and has become a home to various productions, events, conferences, congresses, seminars and exhibitions. With the theatre not having its own in-house system, the venue turns to audio rental company BR Sound S.R.L to help host its events. With the latest Kinky Boots production being scheduled for multiple times a week over the next two years and featuring a large crew of on-stage actors and musicians, the engineers needed a large format desk that significantly expanded the theatre’s capabilities in terms of channel counts, processing power, speed and flexibility. Lead engineer, Santiago Rivero (BR Sound
USA - Located just outside Los Angeles, Concordia University Irvine recently opened the Borland-Manske Centre, marking a significant expansion of its music programme. The acoustic spaces in the $30m building were designed by Walters-Storyk Design Group and include an 1100sq.ft. studio suite connected to a 3000sq.ft. orchestral hall and a 2500sq.ft. choral hall for large scale recordings. Anchoring the studio is a new 32-channel Rupert Neve Designs 5088 console, fully-loaded with 32x Shelford 5052 Mic Preamp / Inductor EQ modules, 9x Shelford 5051 Inductor EQ / Compressor modules, and the company’s own SwiftMix automation. “I have been fortunate to work on consoles designed by Mr. Rupert Neve for many years,” says Prof. Steve Young, Concordia’s director of commercial music. “One of our core values for the new facility is to provide students with an opportunity
UK - White Light has supplied the lighting equipment for Leopoldstadt, which opened at the Wyndham’s Theatre in London’s West End this week. Written by Tom Stoppard, Leopoldstadt tells the story of three generations of the same Jewish family living in early 20th century Vienna. It is directed by Patrick Marber and features a lighting design by the Olivier Award-winning Neil Austin. “Leopoldstadt is a truly exceptional play which encapsulates the experience of the Austrian Jews through one family’s journey,” says Austin. “Beginning in the period of cultural and scientific explosion in Vienna at the turn of the century, it spans a near 60-year period ending in 1955. To achieve the passing of time it’s an abstract set of gauzes and items of furniture, which represent the one room through the years.” As such, Austin’s brief on the piec
Czech Republic - Rock band Kabát recently completed a sold-out stadium tour to mark their 30th anniversary, accompanied with an upgraded PA system featuring DiGiCo’s Quantum 7 console. Kabát is a nationally renowned classic rock band, which has been popular since the 1980s. Its 10th anniversary stadium tour was the most prosperous in Czech music history, and the band represented the Czech Republic at the country's first entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. The latest anniversary tour visited stadiums and venues across the country over a three-week period. The band is managed by Prague-based production company, the Pink Panther Agency, which also takes care of a number of other Czech artists. Its touring division recently expanded its hire stock with the addition of the Quantum 7. Purchased through DiGiCo’s distributor, Pro Music, the company was experiencing de
USA - Bandit Lites once again provided the lighting for the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular, Christian music’s largest annual tour. According to Pollstar, attendance often outpaces any other tour’s attendance during the year’s first quarter. The evening of live concerts by top Christian artists includes a roster of Passion, Crowder, Austin French, Andy Mineo, Hillsong Young & Free, Building 429, Red, Louis Giglio, Newsong and more. After a few years with an in-the-round design, the tour returned to an end stage arena design, allowing the space for a large upstage LED wall. Due to an 8 mil blow through LED panel, production designer Jerry Holcomb was able to place Elation Paladins behind the wall. “With the tour having several more worship-oriented bands, we knew we needed a lot of upstage light looks punching through the bands,” Holcomb explained. To
South Africa - The Nelson Mandela Theatre at the Joburg Theatre Complex in Braamfontein remains one of the most prestigious and celebrated stages in South Africa. Home to the Joburg Ballet Company, the much-celebrated annual pantomime and one of the best-equipped opera stages in the country, the theatre complex is a flame of hope that continues to keep the performing arts alive and well in the city. In keeping with international trends, the Joburg Theatre has recently invested in an Absen LED video wall, which will be installed on the Nelson Mandela Theatre ‘s opera stage. Technical manager at the Joburg Theatre, Enos Ramoroko explains that, historically, the Joburg Theatre has relied on set pieces and scenery. “In the 1980s and 90s, we used a lot of large-scale painted scenery and set pieces to bring productions to life – which was possible thanks to the ample
USA - On 12 December, college football’s most talented student-athletes were recognised at the 2019 Home Depot College Football Awards presented live on ESPN from the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. Justin Garrone and production design firm Innovative Show Design (ISD) have been involved in the show since 2012 and again produced the visuals for the 2019 edition, employing a setup that featured Elation Professional products. This was Innovative Show Design’s eighth year doing the College Football Awards and fifth year since it moved to the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. ISD served as a one-stop-shop for ESPN for the production, handling every aspect of the show from the first truck’s arrival to the last truck’s departure. Not only did they create and manage all lighting, scenic and graphics, ISD handled complete fabrication and ins
India - To deliver clear, intelligible vocals and a surround sound experience, Cine Tech Engineering Works equipped Century City Cinema Punjab with a JBL Professional cinema audio system. Located in the heart of Mandi Dabwali, Century City Cinema is a 381-seat multiplex with two luxurious screening rooms. Cine Tech Engineering Works was hired to upgrade the aging audiovisual system with a cutting-edge Harman Professional Solutions cinema audio system featuring JBL loudspeakers and Crown amplifiers. “We recently installed cinema sound solutions in Century City Cinema, Punjab, with the help of the Harman Professional Solutions team,” said Asad Rashid, owner, Cine Tech Engineering Works. “As per the client's requirements, we designed a cutting-edge audio system that includes JBL 4732-T loudspeakers and JBL 4642A high-power subwoofers along with JBL 9300 cinema surro
Monaco - From 12 July to 28 August, 2019, the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco hosted the prestigiuos Chaumet in Majesty. The exhibition provided a rare chance to see up close a spectacular set of jewels of the Parisian Maison Chaumet, some of which belong to the Empress Josephine de Beauharnais and the Princess Grace of Monaco. Darian Srl was involved in setting up the installation and decided to use 350 units of Prolights Minieclipse to enlighten the precious jewels. Daniele Giordano, chief executive for Darian Srl, said: “The Grimaldi Forum is one of our most important clients, and the event was very exclusive, therefore the lighting had to be appropriate, granting the proper relevance to the displayed jewels. I’ve chosen Prolights because I’ve been impressed by their professionalism and products’ quality. “MiniEclipse turned out to be a perfect choic
Germany - Berlin rockers punk rockers Alex Mofa Gang recently completed a 15 leg German tour in support of their latest LP Ende Offen. Backing up the band’s music was an intense Gabriel Paul designed lightshow that featured a collection of 22 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by PM Group. Working and touring together with the Alex Mofa Gang band members, Paul developed a staunchly defiant lighting concept, that focused virtually all of its energy on backlighting the quintet on stage. Illuminating the band from this angle, without the reassurance of front light and top light, evoked an arresting sense of uncertainty. Key to helping Paul accomplish this were the four Rogue R2 Wash and two Rogue R1 Wash fixtures in his rig. “The Rogue R1 and R2 Wash fixtures were instrumental in creating the overall look and feel of the band's visual concept," said P
USA - On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in half a century. In the heart of downtown, at the Kansas City Live! block, a happy group of 10,000 fans soaked up the victory in a sea of wild cheers and streams of confetti, accented by displays of light and coloured fog created with Chauvet Professional fixtures and atmospherics. Jason Bradley, the director of entertainment and production at the Kansas City Power & Light District, that houses over a dozen restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, recalls the experience. “It was something special to be a part of,” he said. “Adam, Pete and Taylor from Harvest Productions, my technical staff for the event, put in some very long hours to make this vision a reality. “Our guys were well prepared,” said Bradley. “We had a great cue made for the win to highlight the victory. Pounds and pounds of c
USA - Lighting director Marc Tiskewicz works with the Pabst Theatre Group and the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee, where Greensky Bluegrass played three epic shows, including a New Year’s Eve concert featuring a lighting design from Andrew Lincoln. The lighting rig at Riverside included 12 High End Systems SolaPix 7's, 12 SolaPix 12's and six SolaFrame 1500s. The Riverside opened in 1928 as a Vaudeville theatre and is now one of four venues operated by the Pabst Theater Group. These days. The Riverside hosts a wide variety of show from comedy, rock, dance to major political events. Tiskewicz says PTG purchased their Hog 4 Full Boar console in 2016 from Studio Gear. “We next added the SolaFrame 1500s that mostly live on a mid-stage pipe where I can get the most out of them show to show. Then, during the Greensky Bluegrass three-day NYE show, we used 12 SolaPix 19's
UK - In addition to deployment in the West End, DiGiCo is used widely in touring theatre. “As one of the earliest adopters of DiGiCo consoles for use in theatre, we’ve been happy to contribute to their development and continue to be so,” comments Autograph’s Duncan Bell. “From as far back his first meeting with them in 2002, Andrew [Bruce, Autograph’s founder] has been particularly closely involved in the development of the ‘T’ theatre-specific application software. His contribution, and that of numerous other theatre sound designers, means that DiGiCo is the established Gold Standard in theatre globally, and in fact most of the sound designs we see are based on the capabilities and workflow of T-equipped DiGiCo consoles.” “A factor that works particularly well for us as owners of an extensive DiGiCo inventory is the return on investment from their
China - Qinhuangdao Jiayun Electric Appliance Co recently deployed a complete JBL Professional audio system for the theatrical production Tang Dynasty Legend Songzhou • Wengcheng, put on by the Songpan County Party Committee and County Government. Located in the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, modern-day Songpan County includes the site of the ancient city of Songzhou. According to legend, in the year 632, Tibetan emperor Songtsen Gampo attacked Songzhou after being denied a marriage alliance with the ruling Tang Dynasty of China. Although the Chinese managed to repel the invaders at Songzhou, the Tibetan emperor was eventually allowed to marry princess Wengcheng, in an event often referred to as the “national marriage” of the Han and Tibetan people. To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China
