After concerts in Palermo, Venice and Rome this summer, Sting’s Symphonicity Tour arrived in the northern Italian city of Brescia, with Outline loudspeakers for the event at Piazza della Loggia provided by Cipiesse Produzioni per lo Spettacolo.

The system included 12 Outline Butterfly line array modules as well as nine Mantas and four Subtech per side. All loudspeakers were flown at the request of front of house engineer Howard Page except six Mantas units positioned right up against the stage for front fill.

In the show, Sting performed many of his top hits with a symphonic slant, accompanied by the Ensemble Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the Sarah Hicks, plus band members Jorge Calandrelli, David Hartley, Michel Legrand, Rob Mathes, Vince Mendoza, Steven Mercurio, Bill Ross, Robert Sadin and Nicola Tescari.

The system was designed using Outline OpenArray 3D software, a 3D simulator able to predict the electro-acoustic results expected from a live show or a permanent installation.

“We simulated everything with the Outline software a few days before the show and, after the installation, realized why a monument should be built to OpenArray 3D: the simulation reflected reality with surgical precision”, comments Giancarlo Paladini, head audio technician for Cipiesse.

“One of the challenges to be faced was that of obtaining 110 decibels of SPL over the entire square and no spill on to the stage, above all of low frequencies,” he continues. “The requests by Sting’s technical staff continued with the need to mount delay systems half-way down the square and not use subs. These were the results: no delays half-way down the square, in spite of the 73 metresto be covered length-wise and 110 decibels of SPL guaranteed with wonderful uniformity, exceeding even Sting’s technicians’ expectations.

“To manage to carry this out we used two distinct Outline VLA, with an array made up exclusively of subs between them. 9+9 Mantas elements (120 degrees) were aimed at the audience in such as way as to cover a distance of 30 meters, while for the remaining distance we had 12+12 Butterfly enclosures.

“There was also a third array, made up of just subs, positioned between the Mantas and the Butterfly systems. Following the sound engineer’s precise instructions – since a 50-piece orchestra is no joke to handle – we kept the stage clear of low frequencies, once more using OpenArray 3D so successfully that, thanks to a rather unusual cardioid sub configuration, somebody on stage even said that the subs were switched off,” concludes Paladini.

Just a few days earlier, in Piazza della Loggia, Cipiesse used its Outline arrays to amplify a (sold-out) concert by Jethro Tull.

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