The 10-night sold-out production ('amateur' in name only) was staged in a 1,200 capacity big top located in Boscawen Park, Truro, and featured five trucks of staging and equipment, a cast of over 100, a 12-piece semi-pro orchestra with considerable sponsorship and a budget of £120,000.
The event's technical infrastructure - including lighting, sound, staging power and distribution -was all supplied by Viking, who have worked with the Operatic Society on many previous occasions, twice on productions in the same big top.
Lighting designer Ian Leonard utilized over 40 Robe fixtures, including eight Pro Wash and eight Pro Spot 250s, with 12 each of the Robe Pro Wash and Pro Spot 575s. Leonard decided on an all-Robe moving light rig for continuity and fluid programming. Viking also supplied a generic rig of 200 Par cans, 60 floods, 30 fresnels,20 profiles and a number of audience blinders.
The imposing set, designed by Michael Meer, measured 100ft wide by 75ft deep and was over 36ft tall, so plenty of physical scope for coverage was required. Leonard needed a powerful wash fixture to do this, so the 575s proved ideal; the smaller, nifty 250s were used to squeeze light into all the more elusive recesses of the set.
The Pro Spot gobo washes proved highly effective for a variety of dramatic moments, particularly during the opening sequence and the pivotal crucifixion scene. For the crucifixion, Leonard created a metaphorical crown of thorns using gobos projected onto the stage floor, which then swung up to rest on Jesus' head at the fatal moment, whilst a set of Molefays blasted out from behind the cross.
The fixtures were hung from 48m of heavy-duty truss, suspended with eight Lodestar motors from the tent superstructure. Control was via a Strand 520 desk operated by Richard Sawyer.
The audio for the production came from a Bose 802/302 system arranged in six clusters, with the FOH desk a customized 32 + 40-channel Fireball automated console. The band, located in a completely separate tent, had their sound piped into the main area's FOH desk and mixed from there by Leonard. This also ran a 35-way Shure radio mic system for the show.
