With book and lyrics by Stuart Lee and Richard Thomas, with Richard also having written the score, Jerry Springer - The Opera is a fast-moving opera with a big sound. Everything is sung, in true operatic fashion, apart from the role of Jerry, which is spoken. Mike Walker elaborates on the task facing the sound team: "This show demands a simple reinforcement approach but requires a high degree of clarity for the lyrics. As with all operas, there are many sections with multiple lines being sung at the same time. Add a chorus of 20 to the 11 principals and an eight-piece band, and vocal clarity becomes a challenge.
"There is little in the way of sound tricks used in this production. Careful imaging, particularly to two auditorium boxes used by the company, is important. It is vital that the audience knows who is singing and can locate their position easily. We are utilizing a TiMax system to help image sound to the box positions, although BSS TCS804 delay units are used on channel inserts to help the main stage imaging. We are using the TiMax in a fixed configuration, with four groups and six matrices from the J-Type feeding into it. The 32 outputs route to pairs of delay speakers, as well as dedicated speakers by each of the boxes. The main parts of the system are fed directly from the J-Type.
"It is an incredibly hard show to mix. Alan Lugger, the operator, has his work cut out trying to deal with the fast pace of the show. There are no real introductions to sections, so you have to know absolutely what is about to be sung or played, especially the incidental lines spoken by Jerry. The J-Type is an ideal console for this type of show, giving us the detailed control we need whilst maintaining the quality we need. The console is controlled by SAM and we are using about 110 cues in the show, many of which are dealing with reassigning DC masters to accommodate the 33 radios in use. This works out at approximately one cue a minute, which may not seem many, but given that the DC masters are being reassigned almost every cue, it demonstrates the pace of the show. We are using MIDI program changes to control the processing, whilst the sound effects, on an Akai S6000, are triggered from MIDI notes. Jerry Springer - The Opera is a very different kind of show, marrying the high drama of opera with the bizarre situations and foul language of the Jerry Springer show. It provides many additional words to the sung vocabulary of the West End stage, and it is important that we deliver them clearly to the audience!"
The J-Type consists of two frames of 52 and 34 modules respectively, populated by 39 mono inputs, 18 stereo inputs and seven dual programmable inputs. There is a full 16-module output section, with two of the modules being programmable and three auxiliary master modules. All faders for the band inputs are motorised, with all the radio mics and DC masters on manual faders.
The sound equipment list includes a 37-way Sennheiser 1046 system, using a mixture of SK50A and SK5012 transmitters, plus the inevitable handheld. The Cambridge Theatre seats about 1300 people and Mike is using a dual system of Tannoy 3836 open drivers and Tannoy V300 speakers to provide coverage to these. Sub bass units are a mixture of Tannoys and Meyer. All the front fill and delay speakers are JBL Control 1s. Processing is from the BSS stable, with XTA SiDD processors providi
