GLP reflects Odyssey on the Danube
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The week-long festival always begins with the so-called Visualised Sound Cloud (Visualisierte Klangwolke), which attracts around 100,000 spectators and is therefore the largest staged open-air event in Europe with free admission.
This year, director Francesca Zambello and assistant director/choreographer Eric Sean Fogel created Odyssey. A Journey Through Worlds, denoting a journey on the river of life taken by a little girl, the only survivor of an apocalyptic catastrophe.
Internationally famed Austrian lighting designer Manfred Nikitser (Scorpions, etc.) created the design for the huge performing area, measuring around 1,000 × 600m, which included three barges on the Danube and a stage on land. In order to be able to create sufficiently strong images given the large distances involved, and at the same time create as much variation in the design as possible, he turned to the weatherproof GLP fixtures Fusion X-PAR 12Z, XDC1 and impression X5 IP Bar.
Since the audience is 150m or more away from the action on stage, the production required large lighting images with plenty of punch. The ‘main stage’ this year comprised three floating transport ships on the water. And with another stage on land, a total of four locations were available to show different stages of the heroine's journey, with each performance area offering its own unique architectural design.
One of the floating stages was equipped with a set design dominated by triangular structures made of steel beams. “We asked how we could best illuminate these triangles so that they appeared as architectural structures, even at a distance,” explains Manfred Niktiser. “It was clear that we would need a lot of lighting, from moving heads that on the one hand offered the appropriate power plus zoom, but on the other were so compact that they fit into the support structures.”
After the successful use of the Fusion X-PAR 12Z for this year’s Amadeus Austrian Music Awards, the designer once again turned to this powerful LED PAR from GLP.
On two of the ships, all special steel structures were equipped with a total of 104 Fusion X-PAR 12Z. The two visible legs of the triangles mentioned were completely lined with X-PAR 12Z (72 pieces in total) in order to make the shape visible from afar. On a second ship, wall climbers from Naturfreunde Linz showed off their skills on six slanted traverses. Here, another 32 Fusion X-PAR 12Z were used as keylights.
“The zoom and the compact form factor of the X-PAR 12Z were crucial here,” observes Niktiser. “There are only a few LED PARs in this size that offer sufficient output for such an application.”
In addition, 12 weatherproof GLP XDC1 IP Hybrid fixtures were deployed, eight of which were placed on the stage area, with the triangles on the left and right, in order to either create coloured light in the middle or a side strobe effect.
“The XDC1 from GLP was the right choice for this. Their beam angle made it possible to achieve a powerful, homogeneous wash over the entire surface with just a few devices. If necessary, we could also use it as a strobe,” explains the lighting designer. “Their high output made them perfect over the distance.”
On the same ship, the designer also placed 10 impression X5 IP Bars at the front edge of the stage. Thanks to the motorised tilt, they could be aimed either at the stage or at the audience. “This stage offered a lot of acrobatics and aerial performances,” says Niktiser, “so we needed a fixture that was relatively low but still able to illuminate the entire performance area. The zoom of the very bright impression X5 IP Bar made this possible without any problems.”
As usual, the collaboration with GLP worked excellently, he says. “Olli Schwendke once again provided great support.” The technical service provider Supporting Role Austria also made a major contribution to the success of the show.
