In the relatively complex audio world of live performance theatre and non-touring based performances, Meyer Sound has emerged as the loudspeaker of choice. But in the late '80s, it was a different story. In the late '80s, CD players were just taking hold, iPods were sciencefiction conceits and the Rolling Stones were the biggest touring act out there. OK, so that last one hasn't changed, but just about everything else in the world of live audio has. Got digital? So imagine the blow-by-blow when FOH decided to visit the longest-running Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, Mystère, at Treasure Island, and the gear list was revealed: Electro-Voice MT, DML, Midas, Crown — most of the gear older than some of our younger readers, and not a lick of digital.
Cirque's been touring internationally with a live show since their first trip to America in 1987. It was this late-'80s touring background they brought to their first permanent show in Las Vegas, a background indelibly influenced by the live concert loudspeaker R&D department at Electro-Voice, concert touring veterans Big Mick Hughes and Harry Witz, and the "new" manifold technology of the '80s. While they took the concert touring productions of artists like Metallica and AC/ DC to new heights, Cirque took them to, well, the circus. Cirque has been producing shows in the same custom theatre in the Treasure Island casino for 12 years now, and with more than 6000 performances behind them, they have deployed the same loudspeaker system design since Cirque's inception.
"As far as the P.A., it's still the same cabinets and still the same speakers from when they started," says FOH engineer Dave Robertson. There's a clarity in its simplicity that's refreshing. "That's part of the design," Robertson went on. "The sound design complements the show. The goal is not to distract from the show. The show doesn't need to thrive off of special effects. Everything technical on the production side just complements what goes on in the show."
Robertson should know. His background includes stints with Disney at Epcot, where he got to twist knobs with everything from Broadway shows to rock bands, and Lord of the Dance in Las Vegas.
Even with the live band instruments, there is no bleed outside of the system. "The mix from the P.A. overshadows what's coming from the instruments. You might get a small amount of percussion, but that's it." Robertson says. "We're using 18 Electro-Voice Delta Max DML 1152s, twoway bi-amped full range. Also eight EV Delta Max 1122s two-way bi-amped full range. Our mains are eight EV MTH 2/94As as mid/high cabinets and four EV MTL 2As for subs. Then there are six EV-DH1A highfrequency horns. We recently installed 10 Meyer UPM-1Ps on a recent two-week break, along with re-coning all the Electro- Voice speakers."
When it comes down to it, it's all about the meat in the seats, as they say. It's no different with Cirque, and the recent upgrades in speaker placement and re-coning are just maintaining a consistent audio grooming. So often our industry seems to feel the need to jump into the digital age. When some things are just fine, why not leave well enough alone? This seems to be the attitude championed at Mystère.
A case in point is the bridge of the operation, the mix position. They have been using a Midas XL4 for years. On their recent break for theatre spring-cleaning, a Midas representative came knocking at the door. He was pushing the new Midas XL8 to the tip of the diving board. Robertson was not so inclined to belly flop into the almost filled digital pool.
"Originally there was a Midas XL3," Robertson explained. "Then we went to the XL4. The Midas rep showed up telling us about the XL8. The XL4 has been great, and we needed an upgrade." So the decision was made to purchase a new console. They had an XL4, so the natural thing to do was to make the decision Cirque style. You guessed it. They upgraded to the last XL4 to be produced by Midas. The bottom line is that the theatre sounds really good. They pioneered it. So why mess with it 12 years later due to technology?
Which is not to say they've been standing still. As the show rolled on with consistently sold-out, 1600-capacity performances through the years Cirque staff went through some tweaking, including the movement of delays to fill out soft spots in the cheap seats. After all, this was the first Cirque to have a theatre custom built for it in Las Vegas. If you think for a moment what the audio world did not have 12 years ago, it makes you appreciate this system and its design, and hold it in high regard.
Robertson explained, "When you go to La Nouba and those other shows, they really learned from this theatre. They really learned a lot. When they built this theatre, they didn't even know where the band was going to go."
From an audio perspective, that in itself shows that something was done right
