As well as lighting the opening concert by La Scala Philhamonic Orchestra and Chorus and a tribute to Puccini by the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, an ETC Congo jr control desk - with a second as backup - was used for Turandot, Tosca, Madam Butterfly and one the composer's lesser known operas, Edgar, which featured a set design by UK artist Roger Dean and costumes designed by his daughter Freyja.
For board operator Federico Canibus, this was the first time he'd used an ETC desk. He says: "After getting into the 'mentality' of the desk's operation, thanks to a training session by ETC's freelance trainer Davide Gabbani, I really enjoyed working on it and found it intuitive and easy to use. The desk makes easy work of storing absolutely every detail of all the cues and presets for each show and also ensures excellent in-depth editing facilities when I need to change anything - from the fade up and fade down and the presets of each individual conventional luminaire to the possibility of changing every single parameter of each automated unit. Here at Torre Del Lago we're using a wide range of both moving heads and conventionals."
(Jim Evans)
