L-Acoustics Flies High With Cirque du Soleil's Amaluna posted: 15/03/2016
A key part of the audio is soundscapes, sound effects and musical elements that follow the actions of the show's performers. Ten L-Acoustics 108 XTis were installed at the Grand Tier level for the stalls, with 12 on the gallery to cover the circle
Ever since the first use of a PA system beneath its domed roof, London's Royal Albert Hall has been a famously difficult gig for mixing engineers, due to its circular construction, which results in a highly reverberant space. Thanks to L-Acoustics, however, Amaluna is maintaining a grand tradition of great-sounding Cirque du Soleil shows at the venue.
Running from mid-January to early March, Amaluna marks Cirque du Soleil's 20th anniversary of Albert Hall productions. A re-telling of Shakespeare's The Tempest, female performers make up the majority of the cast and the entire accompanying band. The set is as lavish as one would expect from Cirque du Soleil, with stylised trees hanging from a central truss which, as well as supporting airborne acrobatics, also accommodates the main L-Acoustics hangs.
The production's head of sound, Fran ois Lanteigne has mixed over 200 shows in the venue and knows that L-Acoustics has the secret of taming its challenging acoustics. He worked with Britannia Row Productions to create an L-Acoustics Kara sound system for the show.
Amaluna features a powerful musical score that's more rock infused than most Cirque productions. I've worked with L-Acoustics systems for over 12 years now, and after hearing L-Acoustics Kara at different concerts, I knew it would be perfect for this show, he says. Kara delivers a very precise focus on the vocalists, but without compromising the power to size ratio. The rest of the mix was very easy to translate into the configuration required to achieve that.
Fran ois worked with fellow system designer Pierre Sanschagrin to map the system using L-Acoustics Soundvision software. The results proved highly accurate. There is a lot of magic going on in that software, Fran ois continues. Those tools are extremely useful, if not essential, especially with the tight schedules involved in this kind of production.
The outcome was a design comprising a main system of six hangs of 12 Kara, with two SB18 subs on two of the arrays and two stacks of three ARCS Focus as floor fills for the seating area directly around the stage. System amplification is via LA8s, which also handle the processing and EQ.
Six hangs of 12 Kara, with two SB18 subs on two of the arrays and two stacks of three ARCS Focus as floor fills for the seating area directly around the stage. System amplification is via LA8s, which also handle the processing and EQ
The low end was challenging as they didn't want anything on the ground for aesthetic reasons. I didn't want any subwoofers under the floor - because the result is more mechanical than musical - and we couldn't put them at the same height as the hangs because of the acrobat rigging systems, says Fran ois. We ended up flying two centre clusters on a spanner truss higher than the mother grid, two K1-SB subs in the back and higher than a stack of four further K1-SBs. Once properly aligned, the low end was steered down and it worked out very well.
A key part of the show is the soundscapes, sound effects and musical elements that follow the actions of the show's performers. To ensure every section of the audience was covered, ten L-Acoustics 108 XTis were installed at the Grand Tier level for the stalls, with 12 on the gallery to cover the circle.
Every section of seating has some degree of ambiophonic' sound. The surrounds are part of a distributed system, with audio routed to highlight the movements and trajectories needed for specific effects, says Fran ois.
Another key to overcoming the Albert Hall's acoustic challenges was the wide horizontal dispersion of the Kara loudspeakers.
I'm used to playing in a tent that has the audience seated 270 around the stage, which makes it very difficult to achieve a consistent image, says Fran ois. The circular shape of the Royal Albert Hall is no different and there is a lot to cover, especially vertically. I had the luxury of rigging points pretty much where needed, so we were able to bring the six Kara hangs very close to the centre, above the stage, high enough to be out of the way of the acrobatics and any sightline issues. The 110 horizontal dispersion has really helped to achieve the coverage needed.
I can honestly say that the system for Amaluna is the best sound I have achieved in the Albert Hall. We have really got something special. It is smooth and practically seamless, with nice imaging for every seat.
About L-Acoustics
Founded in 1984 near Paris, France, L-Acoustics is a leading manufacturer of turn-key solutions for the professional sound industry. With 320 team members, 20 percent of whom are dedicated to R&D, L-Acoustics is present in over 75 countries either through subsidiaries or via a network of certified distributors or providers.
Recognized throughout the industry for pioneering the modern line array, L-Acoustics offers a total system approach for both the touring and fixed installation markets, and a product line responding to the needs of venues from the most intimate club to the grandest arena. L-Acoustics sound systems can be heard in places like the Hollywood Bowl, the NBA Houston Rockets Toyota Center, or the Philharmonie de Paris. L-Acoustics solutions have been used at seven of the world's ten top-grossing festivals*, the London and Sochi Olympics, and on the Foo Fighters Sonic Highways World Tour, among others.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
L-Acoustics Flies High With Cirque du Soleil's Amaluna posted: 15/03/2016 
