Notre Dame The Musical Spectacular

Orbital supply major new London musical

The decision to stage a show with a digital tape backing track instead of an orchestra has been a political hot potato in London among those concerned with 'keeping music alive' debates. Still a rarity in the West End, Orbital Sound actually also did it on Boyband at the Gielgud last year - where it had the additional impetus of being faithful to the muscial genre!

The sound designer is Paris-based Manu Guiot, who is also a record producer. He was heavily involved in the recordings that proceded the stage show, and the album and original show mixes were recorded simultaneously. Guiot worked with Laurent Dumont on the show's design and has worked previously with the composer, lyricist and arrangers. He admits his surprise at still doing Notre Dame three years later!

The soundtrack is intense - with nearly 50 numbers in just over two and a half hours. Guiot has the mix honed down to 20 groups on his Mac, which is re-mixed completely for each theatre - using Cubase. He finds this a far simpler solution for acoustic variations than trying to fix problems through the system. To keep sound uncomplicated and 'large', they went for a big stereo image rather than a surround system. Again flying in the face of West End convention. it's a simple left and right, rock and roll style PA - loud and clear!

It is the first time Guiot has used d&b - and he's adamant it won't be the last. The unobtrusive boxes are configured in two elegant side clusters and one central, with d&b C7s and C4 subs. There are further B2 subs under the floor, E3 infills attached to the pit rails and E3 delays.

Orbital bought both the Innova Son FOH desk, made in Brittany (from Fuzion) and the Midas Heritage 3000 monitor desk (from LMC Audio) for this production. Their own sound designers Sebastian Frost and Simon Whitehorn worked closely with the French. Guiot explains that for the first Notre Dame at the Palais de Congres, they used a Saje Memory Desk, an old analogue board with a digital remote which sounded "beautiful". When the show moved on, they couldn't find a similar console to tour, so cast around for a digital console that retained some basic analogue sonic characteristics.

Show playback is from three Tascam DA78 eight-track machines. A shure IEM/radio system is used for the seven live vocal feeds from the principals - using Trantec mics.

Much of the processing happens onboard the Innova Son console and Guiot specified several pieces of Avalon value kit - which look great with their blue lights and big silver oval dials! He uses a compressor on the music, one on the master stereo output and another Avalon on the vocals. Apart from that, there's a Lexicon 580 reverb...and that's it. Production electrician for the show is Jim Douglas and sound operator is Rick George.

Guiot, Lortie and all the UK production companies and suppliers have enjoyed the experience of putting the show into the West End. It's been an interesting and rewarding international and cross-cultural exchange of working practices for all.

A final addition to the list of firsts should include that it's the first time we've ever heard a theatre PA run up with AC/DC - Hells Bells of course!

Lighting & Sound International - June 2000