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PRG Europe gives Greek Golden Anniversary Spectacular Start
The festival has always featured a mix of classical and contemporary music, theatre and dance, with the spectacular 2,200 year old Odeon of Herod Atticus in the Greek capital as the open air canvas on which the performances are painted.
Running from 20th May to 9th October, this year's events are even higher profile than normal, because the festival is celebrating its 50th year. In addition, it's also the 50th anniversary of the first film to be produced in Greece. Celebrating twin golden jubilees meant that something extra special was required for this year's opening ceremony!
Lighting director Mike Odam's task was to give a spectacular look to the opening ceremony and first performance of the festival, which featured a 60 piece symphony orchestra, 40 piece choir and live 'electric' musicians. Overcoming a range of challenges, Mike and PRG Europe put on a show fit for the high ranking dignitaries and extensive media attention which focused on the event.
The first challenge was that, while the organisers had some ideas of how they wanted the show to look, Mike was basically asked to make the production "look great". The second major challenge was time. "We should have had four days for focusing and rehearsals, but there was work on the venue which was significantly over-running," said Mike. "As it turned out we only had two nights' preparation."
Added to this, the combination of an open air venue and summer nights meant it was only dark from 9pm until 6am. The tight schedule meant that Mike and the PRG Europe team had to work throughout the night.
Lighting was provided by the Odeon's permanent rig of ETC Source Fours, Vari*Lite VL3000 and VL1000 units and a WholeHog2 control console, supplemented by 18 Martin Professional MAC 600s, 10 MAC 2000s and eight MAC 500s.
Another challenge arose because of the ancient venue. In order to ensure there was no effect on the venue's stonework, the Greek Architectural Society (GAS) had to approve all equipment well in advance of the event. The GAS didn't allow the use of hazers, meaning that the lighting effects were generated by where the light fell, rather than using the beams of light to enhance the visual effect.
Mike overcame this by using the spectacular stone backdrop of the Odeon of Herod Atticus as a canvas on which to throw light. The window apertures behind the stage were used to house intelligent luminaires and some stunning effects were achieved. Mike's use of colour contrasts and the gobo-like effect of light hitting the rough stonework from unusual angles produced a remarkably eyecatching show.
"It was fantastic having the back wall to light," said Mike. "The texture was great to work with and helped to overcome the lack of beams."
The Greek film anniversary was celebrated by archive footage being shown on two large video screens either side of the stage, which were also used to show live footage of proceedings. In the absence of any advance information, the PRG team had to work quickly during the limited rehearsal time, to ensure that the live footage segments were lit brightly enough for the cameras.
Despite the challenges, Mike was pleased with what they managed to achieve. "It's always difficult when time is so compressed that you've got an orchestra trying to rehearse at the same time as you're focusing the lighting," he said. "The shout would come up that they couldn't see, so we had to keep adjusting what we were doing. So under the circumstances I'm very pleased with the results we got. I get on really well with the team and everyone did an extremely good job," he added.
Artistic highlights of this year's Hellenic Festival include concerts by Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the English National Ballet. On 24th August, the Athens State Orchestra will celebrate the anniversary by performing exactly the same pieces that were played at the Athens Festival's inauguration concert.
There will also be evenings of song and dance and plays by Shakespeare and Moliere.
20th June 2005
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