Aktuelle News & Schlagzeilen

Belgium’s leading opera house upgrades with Robe T2s and Tetras

The Theatre Royal de la Monnaie de Munt (Royal Theatre of the Mint), located in central Brussels, Belgium, has just made a new lighting investment comprising Robe T2 Fresnels plus Robe Tetra1 and Tetra2 moving LED battens, which join its existing Robe T1 Profiles, two RoboSpot Systems running with T2 Profiles and sixteen Robe DL7S Profiles which were the first Robe purchases back in 2016.

Head of lighting Koen Raes (pictured) explains that the main house will typically stage eight opera productions per year in their 1200-capacity main house, of which around seven are usually new works plus one revival. The house crew works with different external creative teams, but all the production elements are sourced where possible from the in-house resources.

When the initial Robe investment in 2016 was made, they already saw the writing on the wall and had the foresight to start converting the stage lighting to LED light sources. When the budget became available for this most recent purchase, Raes and his department - which includes eleven full time technicians and programmers - were focused on furthering this mission.

Robe’s RoboSpots have revolutionised how the follow system can work in the venue. They now have the flexibility of being able to utilise different positions for their T2 Profile follow fixtures, choosing the optimal for each individual production, although taking advantage of the height and angle of the 4th balcony has become a favourite.

Before, using conventional follow spots, the positions were higher up. It was more challenging to contain the light spillage onstage, it involved seat kills and they were noisy, so the RoboSpots eliminated all of those issues. It also allows other elements of the Robe lighting rig to be used with them if desired.

The operators are positioned in the left and right side technical loges, a preferred position as they can feel the sound and atmosphere of the show right there beside them. Six of their existing T1 Profiles are rigged off the highest balcony.

The Tetras - 24 x Tetra2s and 4 x Tetra1 bars - were purchased to have something different and multipurpose, says Raes. Rather than getting a quantity of PCs, they thought the Tetra2 would be more useful and functional as they can be footlights as well as cyc and set washes. On top of that, they can also be used as FX lights and specials.

A labyrinthine series of underground passages and tunnels - some large enough to drive a vehicle - connect the venue with multiple other adjacent buildings housing rehearsal studios, substantial scene storage areas, warehouses, technical rooms and workshops and specialist ateliers, all helping to facilitate their operas.

(Photos: Louise Stickland/Paul Clarke)

www.robe.cz

© 1999 - 2024 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories