latest news headlines
PRG Light Russian Ball at St Petersburg
The ice blue, white and gold facia of Catherine’s Palace just outside St Petersburg is over 300 metres long and breathtakingly beautiful. This is the sight that greeted the 450 guests who each paid £5000 to be flown from London for a fund-raising ‘weekend break’ of a lifetime.
Organised by multi-millionaire philanthropist Richard Caring, the fundraising weekend raised over £6 million for the NSPCC. The fun began for the guests with a glamorous drinks reception at the Yussupov Palace in St Petersburg followed by a night out at the theatre. On the succeeding evening, at the magnificent Catherine’s Palace, a spectacular ball and seven-course banquet took place. The Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Russian Ballet, Elton John and Tina Turner marked breaks between courses with electrifying performances – making this one of the most glamorous charity events on the international social calendar.
For lighting designer Richard Gorrod, working with PRG Europe, which was contracted by production company and party organisers Banana Split, the challenge was manifold. Not only were there major restrictions on how the lighting could be rigged within the spectacular Great Hall - the Russians have just spent 50 years restoring the gilded woodcarvings and thousands of mirrors – but the ‘get in’ required the pre-laying of 20 rolls of carpet before it could even begin.
The Palace’s ornate infrastructure is closely guarded by hawk-eyed Babushka grannies ensuring all visitors wear cloth covers over their shoes before walking over the miles of intricate marquetry flooring - care and consideration was of the essence. Add to this the fact that there were 40 stairs to climb and no lift, and the load in/out was made all the more complex.
Banana Split also employed set designer Wolter Dammers of S2 Productions to create the look. Banana Split’s production manager David Godfrey elaborates: “Our MD Julian Posner came up with the initial idea and also sourced the venue. Lighting had to be pretty flexible in order to accommodate the changing moods of a seven-course meal, dancing and live music. It was essential that the set was stand-alone, as we were not allowed to touch any part of the walls or building. However, because of the extreme beauty of the Great Hall, we felt it essential that our set blended into and appeared to be part of the room’s décor and infrastructure.”
Gorrod explains his solution: “My aim was to avoid spoiling this beautiful room with large, ugly lighting fixtures. However, I still needed to provide a suitably exciting look for the line up of internationally renowned artists. For the general room lighting we positioned small ground support towers with small moving fixtures into each of the regularly spaced window bays, which run along the length of the room. Each of the towers was then dressed with gold lame and white drapes, thus hiding and integrating them with the existing décor of the room.”
Onstage the PA and lighting support truss each side of the stage were masked with specially created 3D doorframes. These featured huge stretched screen-print copies of the Great Hall’s existing doors and looked unbelievably convincing. This ultimately formed a proscenium style masking for much of the onstage technical equipment, ensuring there were no ugly views. The remaining onstage lighting trusses and stands were clad with mirror and gilded vacuum-formed set pieces, which echoed and merged with the gilded woodcarvings and mirrors of the Great Hall’s walls.
Gorrod’s lighting created an atmospheric scene of lavish decadence both inside and outside the venue. Guests arrived in horse drawn carriages to be welcomed by the sight of the opulent baroque façade of Catherine’s Palace, lit with ever changing colours, with the pilasters, bays and statuary picked out with subtle sensitivity. Gorrod lit the area using a combination of CitiColours, MAC 2k spots and VL5As on floor stands with clear lenses.
The sumptuous interior lighting bounced off the fresco painted ceiling and ornate walls, whilst the stage was ablaze with true rock and roll style lightshows. Gorrod explains: “We used mainly VL6C’s and VL5’s due to their compact size and relatively low weight. For me these units are ideal for these types of venues. Much of the bulky control element of the fixtures are separate from the light and therefore keep the hanging weight and size down. As with all VLs, as far as I am concerned, they do what they do better than any other moving light.”
Godfrey says: “Ordinarily at Banana Split we would do everything ourselves in house - lighting, set and sound. However for something like this I would only use PRG Europe. These gigs need kit that is in tiptop condition and a crew that can keep it that way throughout. With a party like this one, you only get one chance; there is no dress rehearsal. To that end we have to use a lighting designer that can think on their feet and be able to busk it if necessary. We also require a supplier that can guarantee the kit arrives on time, is in good working condition and can cope with the unusual restrictions of a venue like this one. PRG Europe always delivers and Richard is fantastic; he is very helpful, never seems to get stressed and gets involved in everything with enthusiasm. The lighting looked spectacular and the party was a huge success.”
17th March 2006
HEADLINES
news archive
search stories
FOOTNOTE: Select the news type you require in the red band above; this will enable you to see the current news stories from that section
© 1999 - 2012 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories
