Australia - In 2023, Opera Australia (OA) brought Wagner’s groundbreaking production of the Ring Cycle to life at Brisbane’s Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). Renowned as the pinnacle of opera, Wagner’s Ring Cycle spans 15 epic hours performed over four nights, featuring a collective of 83 musicians and 102 voices performing some of the most transformative music ever written.
The visionary behind this epic was Chinese creative theatre director Chen Shi-Zheng, who challenged traditional opera boundaries by introducing the world’s first digital 'Ring' into the performance. The production was a fusion of futuristic storytelling and cutting-edge technology, featuring giant LED panels that spun, tracked, and flew to create an immersive, mesmerising virtual world for the audience.
At the heart of this technological marvel is John Llewelyn, deputy head of lighting at Opera Australia, who, along with his team, skilfully harnessed the power of BlackTrax to bring Chen Shi-Zheng’s ambitious vision to life.
Having worked at Opera Australia for nearly five years, Llewelyn witnessed the transformative journey OA has embarked on in terms of their productions and the technology utilised. In 2018, OA began modernising their repertory opera process by investing in their first moving light rig, which featured state-of-the-art fixtures including Martin MAC Encore Performances, Encore Wash, Aura XBs, and Ayrton Wildsun S25s. BlackTrax, the real-time tracking solution from Cast Group of Companies, played a crucial role in this modernisation effort. It was used alongside followspots to illuminate performers and track people and props, sending live tracking data to the video server. This dual use of BlackTrax facilitated a seamless integration of lighting and video, enhancing the audience’s immersive experience.
“The integration of BlackTrax was revolutionary for us as a creative department. Video elements, known as ‘Notches’, could track performers around the stage, creating a seamless blend of lighting and video which was something we had never experienced before. Seeing the video integration come to life was extremely special, and the accuracy of the tracking from day one was impressive,” explained Llewelyn.
Since trialling BlackTrax in 2018 as part of their exploration of lighting automation, the system's flexibility and accuracy met the diverse needs of OA's productions, and it’s a key reason it’s still in use today. Llewelyn further explained: “Unlike other systems tested, BlackTrax provided the ability to be deployed across vastly different productions while maintaining the high level of accuracy required for an excellent show. The integration with WYSIWYG, a lighting design tool and visualiser, was a significant advantage, allowing the lighting team to progress further in the design process during the test build, even when all lights couldn't be hung.”
A standout feature of BlackTrax was its ability to handle a large number of rehearsals with a limited number of beacons. "We could assign two sets of beacons to each performance and pair them together, so no matter which set we used, the tracking just worked. This feature eliminated the need to reassign beacons for each rehearsal, significantly reducing the risk of errors.”
OA's aim to create something truly unique with the Ring Cycle resulted in the development of the first digital 'Ring.' This innovative design used towering LED panels as the set's backbone, complemented by a few large physical set pieces.
Introducing new innovations and integrations, especially in theatre, can present logistical challenges. Llewelyn and his team faced such challenges while assembling the complex setup. Despite the limited time available, they managed to overcome these obstacles. They had only four days to install everything at QPAC before rehearsals began, so to ensure a smooth process, the team conducted a test build at another venue before moving to QPAC, which allowed them to fine-tune the technical elements and plot out the lighting in advance.
The ability to transform any moving light into a followspot through the use of BlackTrax was a game-changer for OA, especially on a complex production like the Ring Cycle. This capability eliminated the logistical challenges of setting up followspots in difficult locations and allowed creatives to achieve the perfect angle for their lighting design. In addition to lighting performers on stage with moving light automation, the system enabled the creation of interactive video content. Llewelyn concluded, “The accuracy of BlackTrax has added an extra touch of magic to the Ring Cycle, making the tracking seamless and the visual effects stunning - an expectation set by the director and a continuous goal achieved by our lighting team.”
“There’s no denying that Opera Australia's Ring Cycle was a testament to the power of innovation in the arts," said Dekkar Densham, global sales director at CAST Group of Companies. "It’s been encouraging to witness OA’s journey with BlackTrax and see firsthand the results through the breathtaking immersive production John and his team have been able to create. This adaptation of the Ring Cycle not only set a new standard for opera but also showcased the transformative potential of technology in live performances. Watch this space,” added Densham.
