The Spanish translation opened at the Calderon Theatre Madrid in November and as with the UK and Australian shows, the system was designed by Bobby Aitken. Aitken, formerly of Autograph but now a freelance designer, also co-designed all worldwide productions of Mamma Mia with Autograph Chairman, Andrew Bruce.
Autograph's Andy Brown was the nominated production sound engineer for this Spanish interpretation, Andy's experience is second to none having been PSE on such productions as Witches of Eastwick, The Lion King, Les Miserable, Phantom Of The Opera, Tommy and Cats. We Will Rock You is a musical based around the songs of the rock group Queen but as with Mamma Mia and Abba, the story does not feature the band themselves. With the success of the London musical, this is the third production to open following the Australian show that premiered early this year.
On this occasion the main system consists of L'Acoustics Arcs along with the L'Acoustics line array subwoofer SB218. The compact d&b E3 loudspeaker is employed for front fill and delay, while the Meyer Sound UPM-1P is installed for surround sound effects. The popular theatrical standard mixing console, Cadac J type is in use, along with a Midas Heritage 3000 for orchestra pit foldback. 40 Sennheiser SK50 and SKM5000 radios have been engaged along with a Clear-Com communications system using a number of the latest wireless beltpacks the WBS-670.
Luis Alvarez, the show's Spanish Producer was so impressed by Autograph that he put pen to paper and wrote, 'Contracting Autograph to do the sound was one of the best things that I have done for this production. I hope that we have the opportunity to work together many times in the future.'
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
