Andrea Bocelli celebrates 20th anniversary of Teatro del Silenzio with Ayrton
Sitting some 50km south of Pisa and set in the breathtaking beauty of the Tuscan countryside, the Teatro del Silenzio was designed by architect Alberto Bartalini using a natural amphitheater adjacent to Andrea Bocelli’s home-town of Lajatico. This was the location for the final concert for the celebrated Italian tenor’s month-long tour, produced by City Sound & Events, marking the 20th anniversary of this unique performance space.
Lighting designer Alberto Negri, who used Ayrton Mamba, Domino S and Cobra fixtures in his design, explains how they fitted into the production which was adapted to maximise the location’s singular beauty: “The production and I aimed to minimise the visual impact of the technical setup – since the audience enters as early as the afternoon, the landscape must remain the protagonist until showtime. We reduced the use of tower structures to a minimum and prioritised floor-level lighting positions and side lighting, using top lighting only when absolutely necessary. From there, we developed a lighting design using fixtures capable of offering a dynamic and stylistic approach to the show.
“These fixtures needed to be powerful and also guarantee high-quality light output in this outdoor environment, and I was confident that Ayrton fixtures could fully meet those needs – each one within its specific category. I had already worked with both the Ayrton Domino S and the Cobra on several corporate and live events, always with excellent results.
“In addition to these, I added sixteen Mamba fixtures – a first for me – placed on the ground in a semicircle around a small lake that forms the backdrop of the stage. These fixtures turned out to be the real ‘wildcard’ of the entire setup. Although I had previously only seen them used by others, reality exceeded expectations. Their compact size and sleek lines are remarkable, especially considering the sheer power they deliver. Without a real backlight setup on stage, the Mambas’ presence from the ground still provided remarkable depth to the scene. Used in both beam mode and with prisms, their activation always created stunning effects, enriching the scene with surprising complexity.
“Most of the 64 Domino S fixtures were rigged on the delay towers with some used as support for key-light requirements – with Domino and a proper calibration we were able to achieve a quality white light with no chromatic issues on camera. Other Domino units on the delay towers lit the audience with gobos and colour. The remaining Domino fixtures on stage were used to light the scene with gobo and colour effects. It was particularly positive to note that using saturated colours did not significantly affect brightness – the Dominos retained a brilliant output even with typically challenging colours.
“We mounted 24 Cobra fixtures in four vertical lines on the front-facing vertical posts of the stage towers, from where they were used exclusively for effects and the creation of refined static scenes.”
The event ran over several days with special guests including Placido Domingo, Clara, Brian May, Jodok Cello, Gianluca Grignani and of course, Matteo Bocelli. This broad range of artists and Andrea Bocelli’s delivery of iconic pieces from Italian classical music, offered Negri and his programmer and operator, Luca De Candido the opportunity to explore the functionalities of the design as Negri explains: “We used the Dominos for classic, theatrical moments with side-lit ‘static tableaux’ whereas the Cobra and Mamba added those dynamic beam effects for the more ‘pop’ moments. In particular, the Mamba was an outstanding success: although only sixteen were used, they consistently filled the scene effectively and powerfully.
“It was essential to have high-performance, versatile units with great light output and beam quality. The Ayrton products fully delivered on these expectations along with support from Agorà and Molpass. Being able to use dimmer curves effectively – without always running fixtures at full – and still achieve vivid saturated colours was a key requirement. The IP65 certification also proved crucial: the final show was interrupted by rain yet all fixtures remained powered without a single failure. That’s a huge reliability advantage.
“Overall, by combining highly contemporary, modern technology with evocative, classically aesthetic music – we achieved a well-balanced and visually rich result,” concludes Negri. “Without a doubt, I would gladly use all these – and other Ayrton fixtures – again in future productions.”
Credits:
Lighting designer: Alberto Negri
Production: City Sound & Events www.citysoundmilano.com
Direction and creativity: StudioProdesign / https://lnx.studioprodesign.com/
Lighting and audio equipment supplier: Agorà / www.agoraaq.it
Video equipment supplier: STS Communication / www.stscommunication.it
Text: Julie Harper
Photos: © Stefano Marinari, on behalf of City Sound & Events
© Alberto Negri
