For the first time in six years of HSL supplying the event, the moving light elements of the rig have been expanded substantially, including the ColorWash 750 AT Tungstens together with eight Robe ColorWash 1200E ATs rigged on the box truss and two ColorSpot 1200E ATs rigged on the first advanced bar in the auditorium.
London Borough of Kensington & Chelsea's operations manager Michael Harth says: "HSL always offer us a very competitive and comprehensive package covering all technical aspects of the productions. The service and support that also accompanies this is really excellent and it's good to be working with them again this season."
The completely sold out event features six full scale productions which are performed in rep, two at a time over a 10 week period with music by the City Of London Sinfonia. Opera Holland Park 2008 is being staged in the famous London park's new 1028 capacity high tensile structure arena.
The 2008 line up is - Il Trovatore, La Fille du Regiment, The Magic Flute, Tosca, La Gioconda and Iolanta.
The stage lighting rig is run from a WholeHog II console, and looked after by chief LX Pete Wright and Jonas Fuglseth for the run of shows. All dimming supplied by HSL is Avolites.
It's the first time Wright has used Robe fixtures, and he comments that he's been impressed generally with their performance and particularly with their reliability.
Around the site, approximately 100 lights are installed to illuminate the trees, gardens and picnic areas, plus the entrances and foyers, toilets and pathways, and JTE PixelPARs are being used to highlight some of the foliage.
HSL has also supplied a sound system to take care of the relatively straightforward production audio requirements - amounting to some sound effects and a minimal amount of instrument mic'ing. They specified a mix of Community and Nexo speakers, which are installed across the auditorium trusses and grid.
The Yamaha M2500 sound desk does run all the site announcements and the public address system and so has a vital role in the big picture. It's fully battery backed up to meet the licensing requirements, and all the equipment is also on UPSs. Sound is run through a limiter to keep the levels below 80dB.
(Jim Evans)
