West End Production of ‘Wicked’ is Dancing Through Life With New DPA Mics

For the past 15 years, Associate Sound Designer Hyder Khalil has been crafting the breathtaking audio that brings the long-running London stage musical “Wicked” to life. Working alongside Sound Designer Tony Meola, Khalil abides by Meola’s philosophy when miking shows: whether you’re working with instruments or cast members, get the mic in the correct place without being intrusive, and then get the sound as perfect as possible. With these goals in mind, microphones designed to provide authentic audio were the obvious choice when upgrading the theatre’s sound system.

DPA Microphones fits all of the sound needs for “Wicked,” offering numerous clear, natural and versatile mics. After initially integrating the DPA 6061 Subminiature Lavalier Microphones, the theatre added the brand’s 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid, 4055 Kick Drum and 4099 Instrument Mics to its lineup. “As a whole, DPA makes things easier,” Khalil explains. “You’re not fighting against the microphones—they have such a low noise floor. Compared to our old mics, the DPAs take the sound to another level; details are getting picked up where they weren’t before. Whether you want to hear those details or not is up to you but at least instead of getting lost, we now have the option to keep them in.”

Khalil first introduced the team to the 6061s, which they slowly deployed on individual performers until the entire cast was covered. “I’ve been a fan of DPA for a long time, so I knew the sound quality side of the brand was a given,” he shares. “The main challenge we were looking to solve was aesthetics. The DPA 6061 capsules are small enough to blend into the show while also high-quality enough to bring out the details and nuances of the performers’ voices.”