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Vienna's Rebecca Strikes a Natural Note with Cadac's D16s

Vienna's newest musical production - Rebecca - recently opened to critical acclaim at the Raimund Theater, featuring the story of Daphne du Maurier's famous 1938 novel. Staged by Vereinigte Bühne Wien (VBW), the musical is written by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay, directed by Francesca Zambellow, and stars German superstar Uwe Kröger as Maxim de Winter, opposite Dutch-born Wietske van Tongeren as the second Mrs de Winter. Sound design is by Hendrik Maassen, whose musical credits include a long-term association with Phantom of the Opera. The heart of the show's sound system is the VBW Raimund Theater's resident Cadac J-Type Live Production Console, in conjunction with two Cadac D16 Digital Mix Matrices.

Cited as being extremely faithful to the original book, the musical Rebecca represents a technically very sophisticated show, combining video projection, surround sound and a dramatic lighting design. The composers' intention from the outset was to achieve a close audience involvement in the drama, incorporating high impact film-style sequences. Sound designer Hendrik Maassen explains: “The show's design is extremely challenging, particularly in the way that it combines the video, sound and lighting elements - this makes it a lot of fun from a creative perspective! We use surround sound as a key component to involve the audience, with many of the scenes designed to work cinematically. In order to achieve this close audience interaction, I have implemented a concept that I have spent the past few years evolving - using artificial reflections to overcome problems as with the Raimund Theater, which does not have a very natural lively acoustic. Essentially, I have developed a room simulator system that enables us to put sound into a room to create the impression of the space we are looking for - larger, more intimate etc.

"For Rebecca, we have two Cadac D16s that we are using also as the output matrix for all of the surround and effects sequences. The D16s control the artificial reflections needed to enhance the theatre's acoustics, and to ensure that every speaker has the correct delay and level, so that they blend together without any single speaker standing out. It is not the first time that I have used the D16 and it sounds so natural, giving me exactly the tool that I needed to create a transparent sound. It is also incredibly flexible, letting us change the ambience with every cue in tune with the show's content. For example, changing from a big movie-like moment into a intimate scene, where we put the orchestra underscoring only into the surround system to put the focus on important dialogue. You need a very flexible device to carry this out, and the D16s are perfect, handling lots of different jobs throughout the show. The ability to set them up via a remote laptop is also great, speeding up the whole process of setting up and changing elements. I can listen to the sound in different parts of the theatre and change things instantly based on what I hear. I have worked with a lot of digital devices, and unlike many others, the D16s sound completely natural and don't get in the way. I am looking forward to working with the S-Digital console after this experience, on the basis that it will enable us to use digital sound properly!"

The show uses a dynamic combination of sound effects to create the high drama moments - ranging from storms, the sea and a steam locomotive. Hendrik recorded all of these using a SoundField microphone to achieve the authentic result he was looking for, with the Cadac J-Type's high phase accuracy enabling him to control the placement extremely precisely.

Rebecca premièred on 28th September to a highly critical Viennese audience, and was given a standing ovation and excellent reviews - an exceptional response from a generally traditionalist musical stronghold.

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Vienna's Rebecca Strikes a Natural Note with Cadac's D16s

19th December 2006

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