The three-act melodrama Simon Boccanegra is characteristic of Giuseppe Verdi’s determination and modernity. It was staged at the Bolshoi Theatre, which is fitted with a number of Claypaky lights, and broadcast live on a giant screen in front of the theatre itself. This Verdi opera rounded off the La Scala summer tour in Moscow.
Marco Filibeck, Lighting Director and Designer at La Scala, designed the lighting for the 2010 and 2016 editions and chose the Lighting Designer Valerio Tiberi to illuminate the opera in Moscow.
Filibeck’s lighting design for the opera staged in Milan was adapted to suit the Claypaky lights found at the Bolshoi Theatre, including the Alpha Wash Halo 1200’s, Alpha Profile 1200’s, Alpha Wash 1200’s, and A.Leda Wash K20’s.
Valerio had to adopt the fixed rig at the Bolshoi, reproducing the same lighting effects with different fixtures, checking their colour parameters and correcting them. He also had to check the light intensity, and reproduce the beam angle of each light and the quality of the shadows.
The Alpha Wash Halo 1200’s were used, for the warm tones of their lamps. They were rigged as side-lighting on the side trusses, 13ft off the ground, and on the first lighting bridge in the choral scene. The Alpha Wash 1200’s replaced the back-lighting and proved to be versatile both owing to the light output and ability to reproduce the original colours.
After careful adjustment, the Alpha Profile 1200’s reproduced the cool shades typical of high pressure HMI lamps. The A.leda Wash K20’s were used as accent and compensation lights in the choral scenes.
Simon Boccanegra was staged on 13th-16th September 2016.