LightSoundJournal.com: Cinderella is the latest musical written by legendary producer, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the first new production to open in the West-End since Covid restrictions lifted. Eagerly awaited by the musical community, Cinderella does not disappoint, delivering an ear-worm-worthy sing along extravaganza that includes powerful pop anthems and emotional ballads in equal measure.
7 comments:
As someone who grew up listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber and someone who has been a fan of Carrie Hope Fletcher, who is playing Cinderella, for around 10 years, I have been following this show incredibly closely. The trailer made me very excited to get my hands on the album, but the cast recording was honestly a bit disappointing. I understand that it is considered a concept album as it was recorded before the show was fully formed. Things have certainly changed since the show went through previews this summer, but I am not confident that it lives up to the hype. I agree that it has ear-wormy pop ballads, but aside from about two songs, each track goes on a bit too long and is relatively forgettable. That said, as a long time fan of Carrie, I hope to one day make it across the pond to see her perform. I also think this show has to the potential to be technically impressive. Most of the costume design was striking and I understand there are some moving seats which posed concerns for the sound design team. The soundscape is not easily captured in any promotional materials, so I am happy to read about what it is supposed to be like.
As someone without a lot of prior experience in sound design, I don’t know too much about the d&b software, but I do know that one of main limitations of sound design is the potential to take people out of the show when what’s happening on the speakers doesn’t match what’s happening in our spatial awareness. One of the main things that differentiates theater from other mediums is the ability to fully immerse the audience, and the usage of the Soundscape software is a game changer in terms of how immersive theater can be. I would love to read about the implications of this in shows other than Cinderella, especially in productions with a heavier sound emphasis. The application of this technology in a radio play could be revolutionary for the medium.
(sorry I messed up and posted this anonymously)
I have vaguely heard of d&b Soundscapes in the world of immersive arts. Knowing that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella features a revolving stage and includes movement from the audience it seems that using Soundscape software would only make sense. I find it exciting that Webber, Owen, and Cinderella’s design team are returning to the West End with really fresh ideas. With Covid-19, audiences are ready to get back into theatre. When they arrive, they will be met with inspiring retellings of classic tales, such as Cinderella. I love the idea of immersing the audience not only into the world of the play, but into the music itself. It really resonated with me when owens stated that he considers a production where audiences describe what and how much they feel, and not how great the sound was as a marker of his success as a designer. I am excited to see the final product of the production and the sound design.
This is really impressive, and I'd love to hear it in the space, although it's kind of weird that this article reads like an ad for Soundscape, especially in talking up its capabilities. Programs like Constellation, Dimitri, and Soundscape can be really effective, but they're not magic, and they still have some pretty significant limitations (like the sweet spot problem, which isn't really addressed by just putting a bunch of speakers into a surround Soundscape configuration. I'm still holding out for someone to finally take the plunge and bring a wavefield synthesis system into a major production, since that's actually creating virtual point-sources instead of just approximating them. The possibilities are endless. That said, the engineering challenges involved in the rotating stage with a Soundscape system would be daunting, and it's really cool that they figured out how to do that and maintain a pretty good specialization. I hope we see more of this.
I suppose I never consider the logistical issues a moving set would provide to a sound designer. This article in general expanded my understanding of the creation of a theatrical “soundscape” as I knew nothing about it before. If I’m being honest, my understanding of sound design is limited to knowing that microphones like...exist. I hope this is something I will learn more about at CMU, however the work that had to be done on the West End production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sounds like my personal nightmare. The system that they created to track the sound devices is something that fascinates me, but exists beyond my understanding of the material world. This makes me want to learn at least a functional amount about sound so that I can make costumes that won’t give sound designers headaches. The intersectionality of the set and sound of Cinderella inspires me to no end and I’m excited to experiment with similar intersectionality in the future.
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