Innovason triumphs in tragedy – 246 dates worldwide with Eclipse

 

December 2011

 

“Des Femmes” by Canadian writer and director, Wajdi Mouawad, is a controversial production of a trilogy of Greek tragedies by Sophocles. A dramatic and unsettling blend of theatre and rock music, the tension generated by “Des Femmes” is significantly heightened by the participation of French rock star Bertrand Cantat, formerly of the group Noir Désir. Cantat, who was convicted of killing his girlfriend, actress Marie Trintignan, in 2003 during a violent domestic dispute, wrote the music for the production and is performing a certain number of dates. The rest will be performed by singer Igor Quezeda. Mouawad justified the inclusion of Cantat by saying, “Electra, Antigone and The Women of Trachis are plays about justice and revenge ... Cantat’s presence at the edge of the action will make those themes more powerful."

Helping to bring this unusual creation to life from a sonic point of view are two Innovason digital mixing consoles supplied by Breton rental company Koroll Sonorisation; an Eclipse at FoH and an Sy80 on monitors, both on an EtherSound digital network.

At the helm of the Eclipse is sound engineer Olivier Renet. “I was already familiar with Innovason consoles which are renowned for the quality of their mic preamps and processing and which ultimately tipped the balance when it came to specifying consoles for the tour,” explained Renet. “This is an unusual show for many reasons, not least in terms of its conception – it is primarily a piece of theatre but in which music plays a very important and varied role, from the hardest of hard rock to the gentlest of ballads. Furthermore, with the types of venues we are playing (often national theatres) with very precise acoustics and extremely attentive audiences, we knew that dynamics and timbre would be very important. The music plays a hugely important part in this production – the ancient chorus is an integral part of Tragedy genre, offering opinion, providing elements of narrative, commenting on the course of events – as a result, the intelligibility of the text, even in a rock context, is primordial.”

The Eclipse came into its own for several reasons according to Renet. “Apart from the excellent sound quality, I really appreciated the flexibility of the console and the integrated M.A.R.S. multitrack recorder, especially during rehearsals when you’re constantly juggling between full dress rehearsals, PA system testing, and switching back and forth between actors and musicians... M.A.R.S. was invaluable in that respect.”

Renet also appreciated the ability to switch easily between the inputs mix and the outputs mix for sound check and line testing; the 48 faders which enabled him to have his inputs, VCAs and output on the same layer, with the rest accessible via the SmartPanel; the Relax and OverRam functions; the Offline functionality and M.A.R.S. “Relax and OverRam gave me enormous flexibility, both in rehearsals and during the show,” he noted. “Basically, I could make any changes I liked, either temporary or permanent, without it affecting what the console was doing or the scene memories, which, in a theatre, are usually set in stone. Also, the Offline editing function very quickly became one of my best friends! As the tour progressed, we had a few revisions to make as one or two things hadn’t been fully resolved during rehearsals – I sorted all of those issues out using the offline editor with complete peace of mind. Finally, the M.A.R.S. system has been great for listening to improvisations in situ that we’ve tried out in rehearsal or elsewhere, or for rehearsing with an understudy, and of course for sound checking. In short, Eclipse has been - and still is - a great tool for me on this tour.”

“Des Femmes” is currently playing at the Amandiers theatre in Nanterre, Paris before heading off to Belgium, Canada and La Reunion in the New Year. The show has already played in Greece at the ancient Herodes Atticus amphitheatre and at the internationally renowned Avignon Festival amongst other venues.