Twenty years after first opening in Italy, the original cast of the musical “Notre-Dame de Paris” is back on stage to celebrate the anniversary with a tour of more than 180 shows throughout the Italian peninsula supported by an audio crew deploying a range of DPA Microphones, exclusively, to capture every performance.
The sound team includes front of house engineer Alberto Alicandro, who was part of the original crew, as well as monitor engineer Simone “Zeta” Saccomandi and microphone technician Andrea “Niski” Stanisci. They’re utilizing DPA mics that include 16 4066 omnidirectional and 6066 CORE subminiature headsets, two pairs of 2011 twin diaphragm cardioid models joined by 4018 supercardioid mics to capture room audio and feed in-ear monitor mixes.
“I often use room audio to make actors’ in-ear mix feel more natural, but we also use them to record ambient sounds and audience response,” explains Saccomandi. “The pair of 2011s is arranged in A/B narrow or binaural configuration at the front of house position with a Jecklin Disk and one custom-made support that also houses a camera depending on the venue, while the 4018 in wide A/B configuration is positioned on the stage front.
“I’m a true DPA fanatic and use their mics for everything from classical to jazz to rock,” Saccomandi continues. “I have a predilection for DPA accuracy. Using these capsules undoubtedly makes life easy in a complex musical like this one. It helps us keep standards high in many different theaters, from large auditoriums to far-from-ideal acoustic spaces, such as sports halls or outdoor venues. I hardly need extreme equalizations or unnatural interventions.”
Alicandro adds, “DPA capsules always provide optimal intelligibility, even in the most articulated songs. Whether increasing or decreasing, EQ interventions are never harsh or dull. For example, when you emphasize high frequencies, they are always very natural. DPA is always the first choice in ‘Notre-Dame de Paris’.”
The 2022 tour is being produced in collaboration with Enzo Product Ltd, curated and distributed by Vivo Concerti, and is under the direction of Gilles Maheu. A collaboration between producer David Zard and musical supervisor/composer/singer Riccardo Cocciante, ”Notre-Dame de Paris” has presented 1,419 productions in nine languages to 13 million spectators worldwide. It has also been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest sales of tickets ever in the first year of operation, with more than one million tickets and over three million albums sold.
