Royal Danish Opera invests in Robe FORTES
The Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen has invested in 80 new Robe FORTE luminaires in a package featuring 32 x FORTE Profiles, 34 x FORTE Fresnels, 4 FORTE FollowSpots and 10 x iFORTE (IP rated) moving lights, as part of a technical upgrade to ensure that this high‐ profile venue can offer its productions and creative teams the most appropriate and sustainable technologies to create and craft their art.
Chief LX Sune Schou has worked at the striking and elegant Copenhagen Opera House for 5 years. The venue is one of the most modern such facilities in the world and is located on the island of Holmen in central Copenhagen. Sune is one of three Chief LXs based there and is involved with all aspects of lighting production across all the Opera House’s performance spaces.
The quest for new moving lights started two years ago. There were moving lights in the house previously, but these were discharge sources; the lights were obsolete, the spares were getting scarce, and the drive was to source
something more efficient and in line with contemporary production values.
Sune and his team – including the house’s two other Chief LXs and their four lighting operators – started looking and exhaustively testing all the options to find a good, bright, profile / spot fixture. They also consulted the opinions of some top‐level lighting designers with whom they regularly work before making the final decision. Obviously, the new lights had to be an LED source, however the most important reason for selecting FORTE was the quality of the optics, and the resulting light coming out of the units. For an LED source, they met the challenge of being able to function without incurring any chromatic aberrations and shadows when creating soft edges for the beams at different lengths along the focal plane of the zoom, explained Sune. The venue also generally needs an abundance of profile and wash lamps on the rig, and Robe’s FORTE range has both types of lightsource available using the same LED engine, offering identical colours and colour temperatures for the best continuity.
The fact that the LED engine is transferable was a bonus. Robe’s TRANSFERABLE ENGINE technology concept offers the possibility of replacing or being able to swap out the LED engine for one with different characteristics. The new fixtures are positioned on the overhead and side fly bars, making a majority Robe moving light rig now above the stage in this high‐profile venue. The 10 x iFORTES are used for the top side lights, and the reason for having the IP version in these positions is due to their proximity to the humidifiers that run during performances to ensure the singers have the perfect climatic conditions for their voices. These machines are installed immediately above the iFORTES.
Sune is also now looking at a RoboSpot system for additional control of the FORTE FollowSpots to complete the FORTE environment here.
Photo © Louise Stickland
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