Copyright Lighting &Sound America September 2006 http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html SPECTATCLE angerine Trees& Cirque du Soleil meets The Beatles in the psychedelic new spectacle called LOVE By John Huntington SSkkMaiireemalass de SPECTACLE/CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, P ART I “I loved the show; it was like my able to work with Sir George Martin dreams!” said an exuberant audience and [his son] Giles Martin, and, member, mistaking me for a Cirque du therefore, would have access to The Soleil employee in the lobby after a Beatles’ masters. There was preview of LOVE , the new Cirque discussion about whether or not there production, which opened at the should be any live musicians, and I Mirage in Las Vegas in June. It’s a think everyone came to the conclusion “I good indicator that the latest that, because of our access into the permanent show from the prolific masters, it could be done with [just] French-Canadian troupe will likely be The Beatles.” yet another hit. Like KÀ , Cirque’s last permanent Creating the soundtrack show in Vegas, LOVE is very much a With everyone onboard, Giles Martin 21st-century production, one that began work on the soundtrack, using couldn’t really have existed until the original Beatles master tapes in a entertainment technology had matured specially secured room in the to this point. However, LOVE also legendary Abbey Road Studios. represents a return to Cirque’s People remember the pioneering traditional, nonlinear, abstract sounds of The Beatles, but they may approach, while simultaneously forget the technological limitations revealing another aspect of the imposed on the group and Sir George company’s style. Cirque’s trademark Martin, who were often recording on acrobatics, trampolines, and physical one- or two-track tapes; this meant feats are all here, of course, but, in that effects were consolidated and LOVE , these elements are integrated bounced down from one track to with more traditional dance numbers; another to get the heavily layered an incredible, immersive sound sounds for which The Beatles were experience; and stunning visuals. It’s known. “We were dealing with old different from what many Cirque recordings that might have everything regulars might expect, but they may be together on one track,” says Deans. pleasantly surprised, especially if However, for some songs, “they had they’re Beatles fans—and who is not? the old bounce recordings still available. So suddenly you can get a Beginning with sound better, wider approach.” With sound playing such a critical role The selection of songs and sounds in this show, Cirque turned once again that make up the 90-minute, intricately to veteran designer Jonathan Deans. detailed mashup of a soundtrack, was, For LOVE , he has created a according to Deans, “a collective groundbreaking design capable of decision made by director Dominic delivering immersive sound in a way Champagne, Sir George Martin, Giles Opposite: “Here Comes the Sun.” few have ever experienced. Martin, the remaining Beatles, Yoko This page, top: “Characters.” This Deans has designed Cirque shows Ono, and Olivia Harrison [George page, bottom: “Strawberry Fields.” for nearly 15 years; by the opening Harrison’s widow]. They all had ideas night of LOVE, he had spent nearly and opinions, and the process was three years on this production alone. spearheaded by Dominic Champagne, “They approached me before the because, in the end, he had to make a director or any of the other designers production.” Giles Martin took the were hired,” he says, “and asked me song and soundtrack sequence, and to travel to England with [director of created 32-track Pro Tools sessions, creation] Gilles St. Croix to discuss mixed into a 5.1 monitoring format, to ideas, because many of the questions be used as a starting point for the from [The Beatles’ management mixing process in the LOVE theatre. company] Apple [Corps Ltd.] were The hard drives containing the about sound. We found that we were sessions were brought in and stored in 58 • September 2006 • Lighting &Sound America ALL PHOTOS, EXCEPT WHERE NOTED: TOMAS MUSCIONICO C2006 CIRQUE APPLE CREATION PARTNERSHIP. SPECTACLE/CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, PART I 52 • September 2006 • Lighting &Sound America the Mirage under high security. “We built systems he’s been playing back for the the vaults,” laughs Deans, “but I have last 30 years.’” never even seen the master drives.” The completed 32-track Pro Tools Studio people often have a difficult sessions were transferred to Magix time transitioning into live audio but, Sequoia using MADI over an optical fiber explains Deans, “both [Pro Tools mixer] cable. Using Sequoia, the soundtrack Paul [Hicks] and Giles were really good was chopped up into musical chunks with dealing with the learning curve of an useful for rehearsal and performance, and auditorium as opposed to a studio, and it these chunks where then loaded into was a huge transition. This was especially main and backup Tascam GigaStudio true for Giles—he had been in a 10 x 10' systems, which actually play back the monitoring suite for nearly two years, and audio files during shows. The GigaStudio, he went from that to a huge auditorium; in turn, is controlled by a Realtime Music that change is quite shocking.” The 5.1 Solutions Sinfonia system, which is mixes created by Martin at Abbey Road designed to enhance the sound of an were remixed in the theatre using the orchestra; it can follow a conductor’s second largest Pro Tools system in tempo and respond to constantly Nevada (only Celine Dion’s is bigger). changing musical nuance during live Typically, the team started with the 32 performance. tracks in Martin’s 5.1 mix, then took each One of the bigger challenges of the of the original tracks out of the 5.1 mix LOVE soundtrack is the fact that the and into the speaker system in the tempo and structure of The Beatles’ theatre. This process, according to music, with every nuance known in Deans, took about two hours per show excruciating detail by millions of fans, minute, making for 180 hours of mixing in cannot be varied, while the dangers the theatre. Deans says he enjoyed the inherent in the Cirque performance style sessions immensely: “We would work demand flexibility. The approach created from midnight until 5am, and they would by Deans and his team offers as much Opposite: “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite/I Want make the whole place secure—they flexibility as possible in some very novel You” features a daring display of acrobatics, as would lock it down because we were ways. One key to the flexibility is the does “A Day in the Life” soloing original Beatles tracks. We had so Sinfonia system, which is designed for Whiteley explains, “carries a similar much fun—it was the best.” live musical performance as an orchestral responsibility to the musical director on While the mixing sessions were enhancement system, capable of other Cirque shows. However, since all the certainly fun, they were not without supplementing live musicians in a tempo- music heard in LOVE comes from The stress, however. “Sir George Martin and and pitch-agile way, with a single Beatles, there is no live instrument played Giles Martin make this music,” explains musician performing any number of during the show.” Deans. “My job is to create how the orchestral parts. It can be conducted “During the show,” says Deans, “we will audience is going to listen to it. And there beat by beat, or used with preset tempos, never stop a song, unless someone is being was a huge weight on my shoulders, and it’s used in the pit on many Cirque squashed. But for rehearsal purposes, and because it was The Beatles’ music, and shows. On LOVE, however, Deans says, for the transitions in the show, we needed everybody has an idea of what The “We don’t use Sinfonia to change pitch or the flexibility to go now from the second Beatles’ music should sound like, or they tempo. For us, it’s just a sequencer to chorus, or from the first chorus, etc. So, know what it should sound like.” handle these massive sample files, and to between songs, there are links. Some are Important visitors also raised the stress be able to jump around in the show, built-in and some [in the case of level. “It’s very strange sitting in the should we need to in an emergency, or emergency] are for when it completely room,” adds Deans, “and Paul McCartney should we have to play an emergency stops and goes silent, and they make an has been arranged for a listening session. track if something happened.” announcement.” Seamlessly looping the And he says ‘OK, let’s go, let’s play ‘em’. “The rhythm/tempo of the music is pre-recorded soundtrack in musical ways There was much apprehension going on defined by Ringo, not by the sequence was a major challenge. “A ‘vamp’ can be there, because you have Sir George and tempo,” explains Gavin Whiteley, who programmed in Sinfonia,” explains Whiteley, Giles going, ‘God I hope he’s going to like performs the soundtrack each night. “We “that will jump to another part of the this one—he hasn’t heard this bit found Gavin,” explains Deans, and “he’s a sequence, at precisely the right time, to because it had been changed.’ And sound guy who happens to have a repeat a section or play a different section. there’s me going, ‘God I hope it’s how he Master’s in music on keyboard, so he’s a In the latest Sinfonia software, each vamp heard it, how he remembers it in whatever great match.” “In essence, my position,” can be activated or de-activated while the www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • September 2006 • 61 SPECTACLE/CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, PART I Above: Lighting, projection, and staging all The sound system [assistant/programmer] Leon [Rothenberg] blend in “Hey Jude.” The design of this massive, complex was doing that, because you can have sound system was driven by a desire to many people working simultaneously.” sequence is running—like switching the offer a unique experience.