As with other audacious Cirque du Soleil productions that push the limits of artistry and technology, sound plays a critical role in CRISS ANGEL Believe. With a Meyer Sound loudspeaker and audio show control system provided by Solotech, veteran Sound Designer Jonathan Deans immerses the audience with a surreal and dynamic aural environment of a haunting netherworld.

"The show is all about Criss Angel and his illusions," says Deans of his eleventh Cirque du Soleil assignment. Composed by Eric Serra, the music in CRISS ANGEL Believe is supported by a 152-input Matrix3 audio show control. A CueConsole modular control interface is employed to manage front-of-house functions, with system outputs routed to a total of 99 self-powered Meyer Sound loudspeakers. SpaceMap multichannel surround panning allows the designer to accurately place the sound where desired.

The Meyer Sound system delivers an arena rock sound for the opening Mindfreak number, and then seamlessly switch to a surround Cirque style of sound. "This required extensive surround speakers, creative bussing, and some complex SpaceMap panning," says Brian Hsieh, Deans's associate. "Also, the music is dynamically varied, ranging from club-like rave to orchestral and operatic."

The third key member of the audio production team, Head of Sound Rob Mele, finds the Matrix3 system an ideal platform for mixing the multilayered music as well as for managing the stringent timing demands of an illusion-based show. "The music works very well with a layered and textured environment," Mele notes. "The effect really encompasses you, and brings you fully into the show."

Another critical feature of Matrix3, according to Mele, is the precise timing and flexible operation afforded by its Wild Tracks hard disk playback. "The level of precision needed to support the illusions is much higher than with most shows," he says. "Coordination between the various elements of the production is critical as you move instantly from live spoken word to music."

To accommodate these requirements, Hsieh employed 20 different SpaceMap trajectories. He also made extensive use of the Matrix3's timecode facilities to trigger cues, and programmed the system to respond to external triggers from the projection system.

A range of Meyer Sound loudspeakers are connected to the Matrix3, either directly or—as with the M'elodie and MICA line arrays – via a Galileo loudspeaker management system. The loudspeaker configuration encompasses multiple subsystems for voice, music, and surround/effects. In addition to the four arrays of six M'elodie loudspeakers each for voice, two arrays of ten MICA loudspeakers for music, and six 700-HP subwoofers, the complement includes M1D line array loudspeakers, CQ-1, CQ-2, UPM-1P, UPA-1P, and MTS-4A loudspeakers, as well as SB-2 parabolic wide-range sound beams.

The six SB-2 sound beams, deployed three on each side of the theatre, play a critical role in developing the highly localized and multilayered sounds demanded by the production. At one moment, the audience gets a distant, open sound from the CQ-2 loudspeakers placed below the sound beams, and an instant later the sound pans into the SB-2s and it moves in right next to the viewer. According to Mele, this creates an extraordinary effect that provides another layer of sound for greater complexity.