Although German superstar Helene Fischer may not yet be an international household name, it is likely that if you work within the live events sector, you’ll be familiar with her work due to the incredibly ambitious production levels on her live shows. The singer has featured in TPi Magazine several times – most recently during her 2018 tour with a focus on the production’s dynamic staging automation and set build. So, when we discovered that her upcoming tour would see Cirque du Soleil taking the creative lead on a 270° production, we couldn’t book our tickets quickly enough. Suffice to say, we were not disappointed.
The production seemed to have a new gag up its sleeve with each song, from aerial acrobats appearing from the mother grid and an impressive water feature that could create images within the falling liquid, to a robot that had the singer spinning around the floor of the Mercedes Benz Arena among the crowd – and that is just scratching the surface.
A few hours before doors opened for the singer’s third night in Berlin, TPi was greeted at the stage entrance by Production Manager, Sebastian Pichel and Production Coordinator, Jeremias Klein. Before I had a chance to grab my dictaphone and camera, Pichel asked: “Are you good with heights?” After confirming I didn’t have an issue, despite being slightly bemused by the question, I was shepherded into the arena. However, instead of heading to the comfort of the production office, we made our way to a lift at the rear of the stage. Before I knew it, we were walking on the flown mother grid, several metres up. With sweaty palms, I clicked ‘record’ and began this unusual interview.
This article originally appeared in issue #276 of TPi, which you can read here.
Words: Stew Hume
Photos: Sandra Ludewig and TPi
