New York, NY (August 5, 2026)—When Les Misérables opened in London’s West End in 1985, it was an overnight success, and four decades on, the show has become one of the best-known musicals of all time. Marking its 40th anniversary, a special touring production—Les Misérables: The Arena Concert Spectacular—has been circling the globe for more than a year, and is now at Radio City Music Hall in New York, making the most of the venue’s Sphere Immersive Sound system.
The venerable musical fits the concert format well, but perhaps that’s not surprising—Les Misérables has gone through multiple iterations over the years. Victor Hugo’s classic 1862 novel was first adapted to music in 1980 as a French-language concept album; an instant hit, the record became a musical that same year and ran for four months at Paris’ domed Palais des Sports. That success paved the way for an English translation, resulting in the version that conquered the West End in 1985 and Broadway soon after. Since then, the show has spawned touring productions, a film adaptation, and even Les Misérables: The Staged Concert, which also played the West End for more than 200 performances. That, in turn, hit the road as Les Misérables: The Arena Concert Spectacular.
Radio City’s Sphere Immersive System helps the show put its best foot forward, providing clarity to the cast’s vocals, depth to the on-stage orchestra’s performances and extra verisimilitude to battle sequences as the audience hears bullets fly by in the surround speaker hangs.
The Les Misérables residency is one of the first to make use of Radio City’s new immersive system. “We installed it last year,” explained Josephine Vaccarello, Executive Vice President, Live, for MSG Entertainment. “We premiered it with The Radio City Christmas Spectacular in November of 2025, taking a nearly 100-year-old theater into the future, making it the best sounding theater in the world. Now every act that comes into Radio City is using Sphere Immersive Sound.”
The audio system was originally developed for Sphere in Las Vegas; both venues are owned by MSG Entertainment. In each case, the immersive system, created by Sphere Entertainment and Berlin, Germany-based audio manufacturer Holoplot, is primarily used to provide consistent audio across all seats, aiming to give every row the same sound experience.
The Radio City installation comprises more than 7,000 individually amplified Holoplot loudspeaker drivers, along with L-Acoustics loudspeakers used for surround hangs and underbalcony fills. The immersive system is controlled by custom software that allows visiting concert tours and productions to tie into the P.A. As a result, Les Misérables: The Arena Concert Spectacular is mixed on the tour’s own DiGiCo SD consoles from UK theatrical audio provider Autograph Sound, allowing the show’s audio team to continue mixing with the gear it’s used to.
“It really depends on the act and how much they want to play with these new tools in the toolbox,” said Vaccarello. “For a show like Les Mis, which planned on sitting down for three weeks and doing a run, they are using the tools to sculpt the sound and envelop the audience in a soundscape.”
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When Radio City’s immersive system was installed last fall, it was instantly put to the test across more than 270 performances of The Radio City Christmas Spectacular—a feat it will repeat in a few months. The Les Mis residency, however, deftly illustrates that the Sphere Immersive Sound system can benefit more dramatic material, too, as it makes all 5,960 seats in Radio City seem much closer to the stage.
“It feels like they are in your living room singing to you,” remarked Vaccarello. “It really feels very intimate, like you’re enveloped…that clarity, no matter where you are in the venue, is the beauty of it.”
