Lined up on the steps of the Duomo di Milano, the Italian Gospel Choir drew a crowd of 40,000 to the Piazza del Duomo for a unique concert event recently. The 500-member choir were accompanied by the 12-piece Italian Big Orchestra, guest director US songwriter, producer, composer and recording artist Donald Lawrence and Scots MC Malcolm Charlton (Nick the Nightfly – one of Italian FM radio’s top personalities, as well as being a recording artist in his own right and artistic director of Milan’s Blue Note club.
To ensure the music’s intelligibility for the audience, audio, lighting and stage/support system contractor Cipiesse of Rezzato (Brescia) deployed two main hangs of 12 Outline Butterfly enclosures, flown one on either side of the 50m-wide ‘set’, and 16 Outline Eidos positioned along the cathedral steps (which doubled as main stage) for fill. Four Outline Subtech 218 subwoofers were flown on either side, alongside each of the Butterfly arrays. The rig was powered by Outline T-Seven amps.
‘This system allowed us to ensure even coverage and, in spite of the PA towers being 50m apart and the “stage” only 800mm high, the end result was excellent coverage of the whole 50m x 50m zone in front, which gradually fell off in the areas alongside,’ says Cipiesse’s Marco Riva.
Handling 108 channels, PA manager and FOH engineer Carlo Gennaro was assisted by Raffaella Gatti, while monitor engineer Maurizio Marcolini mixed audio directly from the orchestra plus a premix of the choir from the FOH platform. The monitor set-up included 12 Outline Hard 115 on the ground in front of the choir’s leaders and eight Outline Micra II SP.
Gennaro had considerable experience with various Outline systems, particularly the Brescia manufacturer’s Butterfly enclosures, as he explains: ‘I’d used them on several high-profile events previously, including a mass celebrated by the Pope at Amman International Stadium [Jordan], before 50,000 worshippers and accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra and a 200-strong choir, and what was reportedly the world’s largest gospel concert, staged in Nigeria. As on these occasions and others, the sound quality at the concert in Milan was very good and precise, with great intelligibility.’
‘This great concert was realised with limited production facilities and budget,’ Riva adds. ‘ I’m grateful to all concerned for their contribution to ensuring such good results.’
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