Robe celebrates Vienna Summer Nights

20 July 2012

Austria - Robe moving lights and LED fixtures - around 135 in total - were again specified by lighting designer Helmut Krammer to illuminate the 2012 Summer Night Concert, staged by the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra in the sumptuous setting of Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The seminal cultural event was attended by over 100,000 people and beamed live by national broadcaster ORF2 and 3sat to approximately 60 other countries.

The Robe fixtures were used to light four key areas in Schönbrunn Palace's extensive and very beautiful gardens - the main and ballet stages, the Gloriette structure which stands prominently on the hill above the Palace and behind where the stage was located, and the magical Neptunbrunnen Fountains.

Krammer, who has lit every event for the past three years, chose Robes again after the great results he achieved at the 2011 event.

This year he utilised 60 Robin 600 LEDWashes, 30 Robin 1200 LEDWashes, 10 Robin MMX Spots, 12 ColorBeam 2500E ATs, five ColorSpot 2500E ATs, seven CitySkape Xtremes and 14 CitySource 96s.

"Robe provided absolutely the right products for the project, and I found it wonderful to work with fixtures that gave me the freedom and flexibility to achieve the precise creative look and feel I wanted in the Gardens," he states.

The LEDWash 600s were used to colour and streak the vast areas of lawn stretching out around the stage and other garden features - all of which became completely filled with audience for the concert.

They also added colour and character to the large stone Gloriette structure crowning the hill, and the Neptune Fountains, bathing both of these elegant features in a new light for the evening.

The CitySource 96s and CitySkape Xtremes provided general coverage for the massive Gloriette.

The MMXs were used to add some intricate texturing to the Neptune Fountains together with projections from the ColorSpot 2500E ATs. With careful and tasteful lighting, these elements took on a completely unique 'one off' and momentary quality.

Near the ballet stage the ColorBeams were used for aerial effects shooting far into the night sky.

The lighting equipment was supplied by four different companies - LGL, Niclen, Mediasolution and PRG, and operated for the show by Helmut using two Hog 3 consoles.

(Jim Evans)