White Light Provides Lighting for Garsington Opera Season

	Garsington Opera. Photo: Jonah Persson

Every summer, Garsington Opera offers a program of innovative and unforgettable operatic work. Beginning life at Garsington Manor in 1989, it has run annually ever since, moving to the Wormsley Estate in 2011 which is its current home. The 2016 season features four productions from some of the most renowned composers of all-time and White Light has been called upon to provide the lighting equipment for the tenth year running.

Running from June 3 - July 17, this year's Garsington Opera season includes Eugene Onegin, L'Italiana In Algeri, Idomeneo, and The Creation. The senior production electrician on the show is Sam Floyd on behalf of Floyd Technical Services.

Floyd comments: "My role on the season is to work alongside the lighting designer and make their vision a reality. This year was slightly different in the respect that we had three designers: Malcolm Rippeth, Giuseppe di Iorio, along with Mark Henderson who was lighting The Creation -- our co-production with Rambert. Therefore it was a case of collaborating closely with each to ensure we chose the correct equipment to compliment all four shows."

To do this, Floyd drew on Martin by Harman MAC Aura XBs, MAC Viper Performances, MAC Viper Washes, along with ETC Revolutions, Clay Paky Alpha Washes, SGM P-5 Washlights, and an ETC Eos Control system.

Floyd states: "Thanks to White Light's extensive lighting range, we were able to select the exact equipment we needed. This year, reflecting the industry trend, we decided to use equipment that was largely LED. Not only was this environmentally friendly but also managed to achieve the exact feel we required."

Floyd and his team also had to contend with the actual layout of the venue. He comments: "What makes Garsington so unique is the fact that it is a non-traditional space. That said, this does throw up some challenges; the main one being that the stage left half of the venue is exposed to daylight! Therefore, on particularly bright days, you often have to work with the sun in the first act. This meant ensuring that the equipment we chose was flexible and could adapt to the temperamental English weather!"

Prior to the equipment load-in, Floyd and his team visited White Light's Wimbledon base where they pre-rigged for three days. This was then transported to the Wormsley Estate where it was set-up over a period of five days, before entering three weeks of technical previews.

Garsington Opera has now opened to rave reviews, with this season proving to be one of the most successful yet.

Floyd adds: "We are absolutely delighted with how well every show has been received with both audiences and critics alike. We are also very grateful to White Light for providing us with such great equipment and customer service."

Jedd Hamilton, White Light's hire manager, states: "Garsington Opera is a great show for us to work on, largely due to its outdoor location and fantastic programming. We are also currently supplying the lighting on the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre season, which is another example of us working with an outdoor and non-traditional theatre space -- something we expect to do more of across the summer months."