Son et lumière (show)

[1] Special lighting effects are projected onto the façade of a building or ruin and synchronized with recorded or live narration and music to dramatize the history of the place.

[1] The invention of the concept is credited to Paul Robert-Houdin, who was the curator of the Château de Chambord in France, which hosted the world's first son et lumière in 1952.

This nighttime medium naturally lends itself to ecclesiastical buildings, stately homes and ruins,[citation needed] and has rapidly become very popular in France where about 50 annual productions take place,[1] principally in the Loire Valley, at the Palace of Versailles and at Les Invalides in Paris.

In Britain, where the majority of such productions have been staged at churches, cathedrals and abbeys, indoor presentations are frequently preferred, particularly as architectural gems might otherwise not be shown to best advantage.

[4] In Canada, the National Capital Commission has sponsored a sound and light show on Parliament Hill in Ottawa every year since 1984, from early July to mid-September.

[5] In Israel, a son et lumière production is presented both at the Tower of David in the Citadel of the Old City of Jerusalem, and at the desert butte of Masada.

French electronic music composer Jean Michel Jarre has incorporated son et lumière productions into his live concerts, which often take place outdoors at historical sites, sometimes with more than one million spectators.