"I have been a theatrical technician for 10 years and have used a wide variety of followspots at venues all over the country," notes Owen Moldow, lead electrician at the Guthrie. "When I started working at the Guthrie Theater in 2007 I got to use Robert Juliat Topaze and Manon for the first time, and I was floored. I've never seen a followspot so bright or that had such nice action. They are incredibly easy to use and maintain; I never thought that I would actually look forward to using a followspot."
When the Guthrie isn't utilizing the followspots, it lends them to the Minnesota Opera at the Ordway Centre for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul. Robert Juliat followspots have proved to be popular fixtures with opera companies:Cyrano 2500w HMI followspots recently won a lighting shootout at the San Diego Opera and joined the complement of lighting fixtures there.
"The Minnesota opera has been extremely happy with our Topazes and Manons," reports Guthrie lighting supervisor Tom Mays. "They fit well into FOH catwalks, and the flat field was nice and crisp."
Lighting designer Robert Wierzel, who used the instruments on the Opera's acclaimed production of Dvorak's Rusalka in April, concurs: "I thought the followspots were fantastic. They're a beautiful, clean, balanced light with excellent colour, and I had little trouble correcting to a rounded, warm, incandescent color when needed. I wish the Opera would purchase four of them."
(Jim Evans)
