Coda reinforces Chinese stage spectacular
- Details
The venue’s architecture has a number of marine elements and is designed to represent a conch. Based on the Chinese legend of Eight Immortals Crossing the the show was conceived, designed and created by artistic director Luke Petit through Art Team Group Asia.
Four years in the making, the show, which covers a floor area of 21,500sq.m, has a cast of 63 performers, features a lifting stage, acrobatics, dance, classic Kung Fu moves, 3D holographic projections and a water curtain fountain to create the perfect fusion of traditional culture and modern stage art. The cast which features 12 main roles, was selected from more than 10,000 dance and drama actors across China and took two years to assemble. The scene fluctuates between land and sea throughout the performance and delivers a rich and vivid background to a spellbinding story. Rave reviews greeted the opening night which took place in April 2019.
Production director Philip Alexi engaged experienced Belgian sound designer Erik Loots for the show and he in turn recommended a Coda Audio sound system for the project. Leading Chinese integrator (and Coda distributor) Tempo, was tasked with installing the system.
Erik Loots reports, “I became familiar with Coda when my old friend Hans Engelen at Viladco became a distributor. When this project was in its early stages I consulted with Hans and he offered invaluable assistance throughout, including introducing me to the Coda team in Hannover from whom I also received fantastic technical support.”
The main flown system comprises a total of 48 x AiRay cabinets in a four-hang/12 element-deep configuration. This setup enables the creation of three different audio images, ranging from a narrow L/R configuration, using mainly the centre-L/R arrays, over a wide-L/R image, by using mainly the outer-L/R arrays, to a complete wall of sound using all four arrays at the same time.
Twelve SC2F in two arrays of six cabinets deep were flown behind the centre main-L/R arrays as a spectral lo-frequency extension of the main L and R arrays, while a central flown array of 16 x SC8 subwoofers, two hangs of eight cabinets deep, flown side by side in a cardioid configuration, served as the LFE channel of the system.
Twelve more ViRay cabinets, two arrays of six cabinets, were built into the scenic assets and served the dual purpose of in-fill arrays for the main flown AiRAY system and bringing down the audio image from the high-flown main arrays.
To achieve the cinematic soundscape desired by the show’s director, the system was completed by the addition of 48 x wall-mounted G715-96 cabinets in an Auro-3D immersive layout, using three layers of sound, namely ear-surround, height surround and a ‘voice of god’ layer. The system is driven by 24 Linus14 amplifiers, 24 Linus10C amplifiers and six Linus CON management system units and controlled via Coda Audio Linus software.
Erik Loots reflects, “The main issue with the installation was finding speaker positions that enabled complete coverage of the audience area and allowed for realistic audio-imaging, without interfering with the visual aspects of the show - the flight paths of 2D and 3D flights and video projection. The main system had to be flown very high above the performance area with the result that the bottom of the arrays is 19m from the floor.
“Through Tempo’s hard work and the support I received from Hans and the Coda Audio team, we achieved great success. Now that the show is up and running, everyone involved with the project is very happy with the system and its performance. Pierre Mush, the music composer for the project told me how impressed he was with the clarity and punch that the system delivers. I certainly agree - you can hear every detail of the music and sound effects.”
(Jim Evans)
