DPA Celebrates 20 Years of The Musical Notre-Dame de Paris in Italy

	Notre-Dame de Paris. Photo: Francesco Prandoni

Twenty years after first opening in Italy, the complete original cast of Notre-Dame de Paris is back on stage to celebrate the anniversary. Following the success of the show in Paris, the musical made its official Italian debut at Gran Teatro of Rome in 2002, featuring the translated lyrics of Pasquale Panella. Produced in collaboration with Enzo Product Ltd, entirely curated and distributed by Vivo Concerti, and under the direction of Gilles Maheu, the 2022 tour will include over 180 shows throughout the Italian peninsula.

For this 20th Anniversary production, skillful and experienced sound team members were selected, including FOH engineer Alberto Alicandro, who was part of the original crew, monitor engineer Simone "Zeta" Saccomandi, and microphone technician Andrea "Niski" Stanisci. The microphone equipment is entirely DPA, with 16 headsets, consisting of 4066 Omnidirectional and 6066 CORE Subminiature headsets, and two pairs of 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid and 4018 Supercardioid microphones to capture room audio and feed IEM mixes.

"I often use room audio to make actors' in-ear mix feel more natural, but we also use them to record ambient sounds and audience response. The pair of 2011s is arranged in A/B narrow or binaural configuration at the FOH position with a Jecklin Disk and one custom-made support that also houses a camera depending on the venue, while the 4018 in wide A/B configuration is positioned on the stage front," comments Saccomandi. "I am a true DPA fanatic and use their mics for everything from classical to jazz to rock. I have a predilection for DPA accuracy. Using these capsules undoubtedly makes life easy in a complex musical like this one. It helps us keep standards high in many different theaters, from large auditoriums to far-from-ideal acoustic spaces, such as sports halls or outdoor venues. I hardly need extreme equalizations or unnatural interventions."

Alicandro also has no doubt: "DPA capsules always provide optimal intelligibility, even in the most articulated songs. Whether increasing or decreasing, EQ interventions are never harsh or dull. For example, when you emphasize high frequencies, they are always very natural. DPA is always the first choice in Notre-Dame de Paris!"

The collaboration between producer David Zard, and musical supervisor, composer, and singer Riccardo Cocciante, Notre-Dame de Paris has been a global success, with 1,419 productions in nine languages, to 13 million spectators worldwide. Among the many awards the show has received, one notable mention goes to the strong partnership between the protagonists Giò Di Tonno and Lola Ponce, which earned accolades at the 2008 Sanremo Music Festival (Festival della canzone Italiana). It has also been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest sales of tickets ever in the first year of operation, with more than one million tickets and over three million albums sold.