Meyer Sound News : Varekai Poses Lofty Challenge for Meyer System

Varekai Poses Lofty Challenge for Meyer System

"I think this is definitely one of the best-sounding Cirque tours yet, and that's in part because I was able to position the Meyer speakers to maximum advantage."

- Francois Bergeron
Sound Designer, Varekai

Varekai – which means "wherever" in the ancient Romany language of the gypsies – is the newest touring production of Cirque du Soleil. And wherever the show has pitched its tent so far, sellout crowds have thrilled to the spectacle of breathtaking acrobatics, inspired choreography, stunning lighting and set designs, exotic costumery, and enthralling sounds coming down from on high via a Meyer Sound loudspeaker system.

Sound design for the show was the work of 14-year Cirque veteran Francois Bergeron, whose designs include "O", La Nouba and Quidam. Unlike some of his previous efforts, where sound design was largely an after-the-fact process, with Varekai Bergeron was on the creative team from the early conceptual stages.

"Because I was involved with the show from the beginning, I was able to fully integrate the audio elements into the overall concept and into the set," he says. "The sound basically reinforces the set design, with the power emanating from the center above the stage. I think this is definitely one of the best-sounding Cirque tours yet, and that's in part because I was able to position the Meyer speakers to maximum advantage."

Varekai tells the story of Icarus who, after falling from the sky into a forest populated by magical creatures, is pulled into a series of fantastic adventures while seeking help to return home. The fast-paced acrobatic scenes are played out – on the stage and above it – by a cast of 50 performers drawn from more than a dozen countries. All the action takes place inside a portable 50-meter long tent with a seating capacity of over 2600.

According to Bergeron, the tent's flexible PVC skin, when stretched taut, presents a surprisingly hard acoustical surface and is highly reflective at problematic frequencies. "It's really quite reverberant, especially when empty," he says. "For example, at 1 kHz we measured a reverb time of about 5.4 seconds. So you have to be careful with your coverage and alignment of speakers."

To supply the needed power from above the stage while avoiding destructive reflections, Bergeron devised a system comprising three center clusters and an outer delay ring. The two outside clusters, each with a pair of CQ-1 Wide Coverage Main loudspeakers, flank the middle cluster of three CQ-2 Narrow Coverage Main loudspeakers. While these clusters anchor the sound high above the stage, supplemental reinforcement is supplied by the delay ring of ten UPA-1P Compact Wide Coverage loudspeakers. Deep bass power, which for both logistical and artistic reasons also had to come from above, is provided by four PSW-2 High-Power Flyable subwoofers that are hoisted up in the cupola.

"We chose the Meyer line of speakers for this show first because of the precise control," comments Bergeron, "but also because we have been touring for years with Meyer self-powered speakers and they are very reliable. Having the amplifiers inside the box eliminates many of the places where things can go wrong in the audio chain."

Bergeron states that the tight confines of the tent were also a point in favor of the powered systems. "We save space with them. We literally did not have any backstage space in this show for amplifier racks."

The demands of Varekai quickly put the system to a grueling test. "This is definitely one of the most audio-oriented shows," says Bergeron, "with wall-to-wall music and sound effects." Live music comes from a band of six multi-instrumentalists and two vocalists, with sound effects mixed in from a variety of RAM- and disk-based digital replay units. In all the production fully occupies the inputs of a 56-input Soundcraft console plus two Yamaha O1V submixers.

The day-to-day operation of show audio is under the supervision of Pitsch Karrer, a certified SIM engineer with a background of mixing European tours of Broadway productions. On his first Cirque tour, Karrer reports that show's sound is helping draw the sellout crowds.

"The audiences seem very appreciative of the sound," he says, "and they respond very well to some of the scenes where we have created images with sound, and where we use surround effects to expand the size and impact of the music."

Bergeron credits the success of the show's sound to the touring crew – Karrer along with Thomas Duchaine and Stein Guitton – and strong support from Daniel Petit at Cirque du Soleil's technical department in Montreal.

"They have been great from the outset," he says. "They took over all the technical details so I could concentrate on creating the ambience, and on working with the composer to glue the whole show together with effects and soundscapes. With their help, I think we've moved to a higher level on sound with Varekai."

After engagements in Quebec City, Toronto, Philadelphia and San Francisco Varekai moves on to San Jose and Atlanta.

December, 2002