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Wicked Comes to the German Stage with CADAC
The latest production of the hit musical Wicked opens today at Stage Entertainment's Palladium Theatre in Stuttgart, bringing the total to seven worldwide, including the US tour. Sung entirely in German, this is the second foreign language version to be staged, following on from the Japanese show that opened in June. It stars Willemijn Verkaik and Lucy Scherer as the two witches, selected after more than 1,800 hopefuls auditioned for the roles. Sound design is by Tony Meola, with Kai Harada as associate sound designer, featuring the show's trademark 90-input Cadac J-Type Live Production Console and Meyer Sound M1D and M2D line array systems.
In the run up to Wicked's opening night, the ten-year old Palladium Theatre has undergone a substantial refit, reflecting its position as one of the best-known venues for German musical theatre. The 1800-seat auditorium presented few major challenges to the sound team, as Kai Harada expands: "The Palladium is a purpose-designed venue and as such, presented us with a pretty straightforward project - with one exception. It is a big space and there are lots of areas to cover, so we have had to expand the sound system to an all-time record for the show, putting in some 213 loudspeakers in total! We have used a similar approach to previous productions, with the primary system components remaining constant, and working with Stage Entertainments to use their existing equipment as appropriate. Given that Wicked is a very lyrical show, and the sound design reflects this very sympathetically, it has been an interesting experience to work on the German language version. The main differences we have noticed are that the big chorals have a much greater operatic effect, and the ballads are less soft with perhaps more attack. We had a fantastic reception from the audience on the first preview, and are anticipating a great first night."
16th November 2007
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