This was the case when Stephen Page was invited by MIF to illuminate a performance by virtuoso Russian-born violinist Alina Ibragimova in collaboration with filmmakers and animators, The Brothers Quay. It was staged in and around the Library of the historic Chetham's School of Music, Manchester.
The atmospheric promenade performance for 100 people each evening introduced them to several different locations in the heart of Chetham's 600 year old centre of learning, where Ibragimova performed four different solo violin pieces by Berio, Bach, Biber and Bartók.
In the Baronial Hall, the final performance space - a specially commissioned stop-motion-animation film by The Brothers Quay accompanied her playing.
Page's brief during this sequence was to light Ibragimova so she almost became a part of the movie. He also had to light the whole performance area to match the mood and vibe of the work, in the process create a timeless transcendental environment where people could be completely unaware of space and chronology, lost in the emotional intensity, power and simplicity of the music.
Page used nearly 100 Par16 'Birdies' for the project, and a range of ETC Source4 lanterns, in addition lengths of VS Opto LED strip were rigged around an ancient door suspended within the library, giving it the appearance of floating.
"The lighting played a vital element in creating the setting and in engaging the audience to become immersed in the intimacy and power of the performance," explains Page, "The show was a combination of being incredibly close to one of the world's leading violinists for a recital of beautiful and challenging music, accompanied by abstracted, provocative images that interacted with the historic setting to create a truly unique event."
(Jim Evans)
