Royal Opera House Invests in Altman SpectraCyc 200

	Royal Opera House Exterior Photo: ROH / Peter Mackertich

The Royal Opera House in London has recently invested in SpectraCyc 200 units from Altman Lighting for their Linbury Studio Theatre. The new cyclorama wash fixtures, which have replaced existing tungsten fixtures, use an LED source with RGBA color-mixing to achieve a nearly limitless color palette. Designed for both theatrical and architectural applications, the Spectra Cyc blends colors via a patent-pending LED lens and can be adapted for either floor mounted or sky-cyc uses.

Before deciding on the Altman fixtures, Paul Hornsby, lighting systems manager at Royal Opera House, researched several technologies and product options. With the Linbury hosting a wide variety of performances during the regular season as well as private events and functions, it was essential that the new lighting fixtures provide a wide array of colors without compromising on brightness. "Our goal was to offer a flexible solution to accommodate all of our visiting designers and our in house teams," Hornsby explains. "That's one of the reasons why we started investigating LED fixtures. The benefits of the technology are clear: more choices, energy savings, and less maintenance -- but the choice of fixture is still ultimately about the quality of light and what can be achieved. We have never achieved an evenly lit cyc in the Linbury because of lack of space to place fixtures, all types of lanterns and sources have been tried, but we finally succeeded with the Altman units."

After side by side lighting tests, performed in the space, Hornsby chose the Altman Spectra Cyc 200 fixtures, hands down. "The others simply couldn't compare with the range of color, smoothness, and brightness offered by the Altman units at such close distances to the cyc," he says. The Royal Opera House purchased 20 Altman Cyc 200 fixtures for the Linbury Studio Theatre. Immediately, the units were put to the test as the venue's regular season continued with a variety of ballet and opera performances as well as one-off events.

After using the new fixtures over the past few months, Hornsby and his team are very happy with the purchase. "Being able to create beautifully subtle pastels and dramatic saturated colors from the same fixture is fantastic," says Hornsby. "Designers are impressed with the color range and the shows look amazing for our audiences." Great looking light isn't the only benefit. With the new fixtures, the venue has achieved huge energy savings over its previous lighting rig. With no lamps to change and no lighting gels to look after, the lighting systems team is also enjoying decreased maintenance time for the fixtures. Overall, the company says the solution is a win-win for The Royal Opera House, visiting productions, and -- not least -- Linbury audiences.

Altman Lighting products, including the SpectraCyc 200 and the award-winning Phoenix LED profile, can be purchased through White Light, Altman's official UK distributor.

See Altman Lighting at PLASA Focus: Austin, September 9 - 10.