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Robe lights the way for MacBeth

The New Zealand Opera's recent acclaimed production of Giuseppe Verdi's MacBeth unleashed a classic and grisly narrative of power, politics, corruption, murder and authoritarianism. Lighting designer Matt Marshall specified and used Robe T1 PC moving lights to provide special soft back lighting to delineate the cast and evoke a sense of separation between them and the large scape video projections across the set.

The performance opened at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, then travelled to the St James Theatre in Wellington and the Isaac Royal Theatre in Christchurch. It was the first opera that Matt has lit using T1 PC fixtures and his first creative collaboration with British director/designer and video artist Netia Jones, who designed set, costumes and video as well as directing the work. Projected images played a prominent role in the dramaturgy, beamed onto three imposing scenic walls making up the set.

With video projections so fundamental to the action and aesthetics, this also informed the way Matt lit the stage and cast. It was needing a specific and refined back light to give depth and three-dimensionality which led him to T1 PC to make the characters pop out but not affect the impact of the images. The production's visual style was very noir with multiple greyscales, monochromacy and sharp contrasts, so he needed a crisp, cold white to complement and contrast with this for which the seven T1 PCs were the solution.

Having previously used T1 and T2 Profiles on shows for the Western Australian Ballet in 2021, he knew that the products were ideal for this environment, but it was the quietness that really impressed him. It's also something that is essential for opera, as everyone involved in this genre of performance is acutely conscious of ambient noise levels. Other features like the accurate shuttering system and super-smooth dimming were also useful, especially when confining light to specific areas and preventing spill onto the set.

The general challenge in lighting this production was accentuating all the nuance and intrigue involved as Francesco Maria Piave's libretto was unfolded, capturing the intricacy and narcissism of the characters and the cynicism of their actions. There had to be a constant and complete balance between the two visual media - light and moving image - to enhance the compelling storytelling, and Matt enjoyed working with Netia to create this fluidity and sense of visual spectacle.

The set was essentially a giant angled box wrapping an almost bare stage, so the trick was penetrating this space and using it properly and intelligently to relate the story. Fixture placement was absolutely critical in each venue, and lights had to be rigged on drop bars and other rigging infrastructure to get them spot-on, as no luminaire could be below the 10-metre projector pathway.

The moving lights were supplied to the production by Wellington-based Grouse Lighting.

photos: Grant Triplow

www.robe.cz

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