Autograph has been involved with Les Misérables since chairman Andrew Bruce designed the original London production in 1985. To address the scale of the tour, the company supplied an extensive Meyer Sound M3D Line Array Loudspeaker System in a sound design realised by Autograph's Nick Lidster, who also mixed the shows. Lidster was a member of the original sound team on the London production and has gone on to design and mix all concert versions of the show performed in the UK, including the Tenth Anniversary celebration at the Royal Albert Hall in 1995.
Autograph used a computer-controlled Cadac J type front of house console with over 120 input channels and a 56-channel Midas Heritage monitor console for the tour. More than 110 high quality microphones from AKG, Sennheiser, Schoeps, ElectroVoice, Shure, Beyer and Neumann were employed across the 80-piece Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, 200-member choir, 40-piece ensemble and lead performers. The main PA consists of 24 self-powered Meyer M3Ds, with 30 Meyer Sound MSL-4s available for sidefill and delay systems depending on the requirements of individual venues. Twenty Martin Audio WSX subwoofers and 20 Meyer UPA-1C and UM-1 stage monitors are being powered by Amcron Macrotech amplifiers.
Produced by Cameron Mackintosh in association with Noble Art, the tour opened to a full house on 26th October at the 28,000-seater Copenhagen Parken and had entertained an audience of nearly 150,000 by the end of its five-week run.
(Ruth Rossington)
