Before taking on a huge number of concerts in major European and Asian capitals, he embarked on a tour of theatres in Italy to mark the release of his latest work Beyond This album also features foreign artists and producers.
Jo Campana, the lighting designer who has worked with Biondi for several years, briefly described how the tour lighting design came about: "After a discussion with Mario and after listening to his new album, I tried to steer my work so that it diverged from the Mario's past and supported his intention to seek out and discover new musical horizons.
"My idea was to create an elegant stage concept, with just a touch of innovation, that would be able to convey a sense of freshness and modernity. The most characteristic elements were the two wide LED curtains which spread out from the backdrop over the stage right up to the proscenium under four transparent accessible Plexiglas platforms. A third beam appeared at the back in the middle later on in the show, when a moving section of the backdrop revealed 36 array-configured moving LED spotlights.
"The chance to work in traditional theatres allowed me to put together a pretty standardized lighting design with three levels of battens and a fair number of footlights, which I particularly like.
"The tour logistics and economic sustainability affected my choice of kind and number of lights. The best solution was to use Clay Paky Sharpy Wash units and Alpha Spot HPE 700s. I have used both of these lights before and I knew they would guarantee the results."
(Jim Evans)
