Philips Entertainment Adds "Vital Color" to Eccentric Opera

	Hartley T A Kemp used the Philips Selecon, Showline, and Vari-Lite luminaires to create the colorful worlds of each character's story. Photo: Diana Popovska

International lighting designer Hartley T A Kemp has employed Philips Selecon and Showline LED luminaires alongside classic Philips Vari-Lite tungsten to deliver crucial color vibrancy and consistency on a production of English Eccentrics by the University of Sydney's Conservatorium of Music.

Based on the literary classic by Edith Sitwell and composed by University of Sydney alumnus and former Master of the Queen's Music Malcolm Williamson, this rarely-performed tragi-comic opera celebrates an assortment of outlandish -- and real-life -- characters from various echelons of 19th century English society. The piece satirizes the eccentricity that typified the British, and examines the often strange and lonely lives of these 19th century celebrities and eccentrics.

In Kate Gaul's production, conducted by Stephen Mould, lighting director Kemp was tasked with evoking the world of an asylum or institution which the characters may or may not inhabit, and of creating the colorful worlds of each character's individual stories.

He therefore specified an array of Philips Selecon PL3 and PL1 and Philips Showline SL BAR 620 LED luminaires to add "vital color" to the set up and shift between the individual vignettes making up the piece, which each had a different look, feel, or location.

"The Philips Entertainment LED fixtures were used for their ability to smoothly cross-fade from one color to another," explains Kemp. "I was impressed with the units' consistency in recalling the same color time after time, their deep saturated hues, and their quiet running."

Kemp positioned two PL3 units as top backlight, with a further two as side backlight, saying: "I hadn't used the PL3 units before, but selected them on this piece for their color-changing ability and punch."

The Philips Selecon PL range of profiles offer a high-output beam and four RGBW LED chips to deliver limitless color mixing capabilities and variable color temperature.

"I was also pleased with how well the LED units worked alongside the conventional lights in the rig, including the VL1000TS units," continues Kemp. "These were used for their accurate positioning, shutters, and their tungsten output, which helped them work well with the rest of the rig."

English Eccentrics ran between October 12 - 17.