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Royal Opera House London chooses Artist Picasso for FOH moving head solution
UK – The Royal Opera House in London has chosen artist Picasso from Elation Professional as the new moving head lighting solution for the prestigious performance hall. Available for both the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet, the theatrical-grade LED profile fixture met exacting world-class standards and has already been used to light up several performances. Technical solutions specialist White Light Ltd (WL) sold the luminaires to the site.
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera and performing arts venue of the highest caliber.
Located in Covent Garden in central London, it is home to the Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera House Orchestra, world-renowned companies with a rich history of acclaimed performances. The ROH is also home to an exceptional technical team, which works with cutting-edge technologies to improve every aspect of its world-class program.
One category of luminaires for which the ROH technical team has been frequently called upon is a lyre in the frontal position. Simon Bennison, Lighting Associate / Deputy Lighting Director at the Royal Opera House, explains: For bright and flexible lyres in the FOH area. We have experimented with different units, but run into perpetual issues with line of sight, lack of space, and unit noise.
This involved the staging of the production of Handel’s opera “Agrippina” by the Munich Opera, where the ROH received a specific request from lighting designer Benedikt Zhem for the placement of LED units. with lyre at the front of the house. In order to meet the designer’s wish, the ROH team looked for a possible solution.
Before the “Agrippina†race, Bennison had the opportunity to see artist Picasso Elation on duty at the National Theater in Oslo, one of Norway’s most important venues for the dramatic arts. “I had the privilege of working closely with Ryan Bourne and the on-site lighting team, and got to see the lights in action. It became evident that even in a relatively compact space, noise in the auditorium was minimal and the unit showed potential for use in London.
After arranging an on-site demonstration through Elation’s exclusive UK distributor Entedi, ROH chose the unit for ‘Agrippina’ production because of its size, minimal ambient noise, high quality of lighting and its flexibility. “We brought the Picasso for Agrippina and it was very strong,†recalls Bennison. “The lighting designer was very satisfied with the quality of the light and the results of the show. During the “Agrippina” run at the ROH, they were also able to use the lights on other plays, notably on “La Bohème” and the opera “Alice’s Adventures Underground”.
Still faced with requests for mobile devices in front of the house and a positive experience on “Agrippinaâ€, the decision was made to search for a FOH mobile lyre device for permanent installation and further research for a suitable solution began. “We went through a pretty comprehensive process with shootouts and demos from a lot of manufacturers,†Bennison says. “But when we reduced the criteria, the device that best suited our needs was the Artist Picasso overall and its low decibel level was very hard to beat. We have chosen the units specifically to preserve the visitor experience in terms of background noise levels. In addition, the quality of light – color temperature and color quality – was also a determining factor. “It has a very clear, flat, good quality beam.”
The decision of one of the world’s largest opera houses to invest in a new state-of-the-art lyre was significant. The Royal Opera House team also knew that John Froelich, from another of the world’s largest opera companies, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, had chosen the Elation Artist series units for his new repertoire, an acquisition. which reassures a little in the right direction.
Part of Elation’s award-winning Artist series, artist Picasso has found service in concert tours, special events, theater and television. Housing a 620W white LED motor, it produces an extremely crisp 23,000 lumen output and includes theatrically useful design features like graphics, animation wheel, zoom, and framing. The Picasso units, delivered by WL in August and fitted with custom gobo designs prior to assembly, complement existing arc-source moving heads and LED wash light motors to provide increased flexibility in front-of-house positions. the room. WL, which has worked closely with the site for many years, also provides after-sales support when needed.
Cally Bacchus, Managing Director of Elation’s distribution partner Entedi, said: “The ROH team is an elite group with exceptional technical knowledge, which maintains incredibly high standards in one of the most prestigious theaters. from the United Kingdom. When they contacted us about the Elation units, we were very happy to set up a demo, convinced that the Artist Picasso product is quickly becoming an industry standard mobile LED contoured light fixture. It is exciting to receive such an overwhelmingly positive response from this well-respected establishment.
photos: Clive Barda, Ellie Kurttz and Tristram Kenton
November 11, 2021
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