CirqueTech – Dralion at the RAH

When Cirque du Soleil visits London with a touring production its setup is unlike anywhere else in the world. What makes London different than any other international city? The Royal Albert Hall (RAH). When Cirque comes to town their trademark blue-and-yellow swirled big top is not raised; instead, Cirque du Soleil resides inside this grand performance hall and by doing so changes the way the show is staged.

In February 2004, Dralion paid a visit to the Royal Albert Hall and with it Lighting & Sound International (L&SI) magazine took a peek into what it takes to have Cirque du Soleil setup at the Royal Albert Hall. Here are some amazing facts about what it takes to set up a production like Dralion inside the hall:

  • Dralion was shipped to London in approximately 48 containers from Mexico City.
  • Cirque installed only half of the kit at the RAH; the rest (including big top) went on to Amsterdam, the next stop.
  • To fill in the missing pieces, Cirque hired local craftsman: Neg Earth (lighting), Britannia Row (sound), the Soft Goods Co (drapes), Media Structures (scaffolding), Summit Steel (rigging).
  • Dralion had over 130 rigging points in the Royal Albert Hall, which broke a record. 50 of these hoists belong to the RAH; the rest were supplied by Summit Steel.
  • The set required extra propping; the pillars in front of the bottom tier boxes are made of cast-iron steel, which is not a strong material.
  • The Cupola Grid required eight brand new two-tonne Liftket chain hoists, which provided the 16-tonnes of lift required.
  • The Spiro scissor lift in the center of the stage weighs two tonnes.
  • The metallic set-piece is constructed from three-quarter inch steel plate and is black-lit by four (4) green 5k fresnels with MR16 Birdies built-in.
  • The lighting rig has 20 movers consisting of Clay Paky Stage Zooms and Super Scan Zooms. Generics are primarily ETC Source Fours and Pars. Robert Juliat HMIs and five (5) Robert Juliat followspots are also used.
  • The ETC sensor touring dimmers used at the RAH for Dralion run at 110-volts. Lighting is controlled through a Compulite 40 console.
  • Dralion usually tours with around 500 dimmers, its own generators and transformers, and four (4) generators on two trailers.
  • The singers are mic’ed with ME-104 capsules through a Sennheiser SK-5012 bodyoack and an EM3032 receiver. The band is mic’ed with a combination of Shure Beta 52s and 57s with two (2) Audio-Technica AT4050s rigged overhead, left and right.
  • Speakers – six (6) L-Acoustic “Arcs” with 12 MTD-108s are located under the stage with eight (8) SB118 subwoofers powered by a combination of Chevin Q-6 and A-5000 amplifiers plus another 12 L-Acoustics LA48a amplifiers.
  • Dralion is mixed on a combination of Soundcraft Series 5 and SM-12 console.
  • Every musician has his own Yamaha 01V to mix each of the songs to their personal needs.
  • The Outboard kit includes three (3) Yamaha SPX990s, a dbx 166 and a 160SL, two (2) ACP88s and BSS DPR 504s and 404s.

{ Source – LSIOnline.co.uk: February 2004 }