Cory FitzGerald chooses Ayrton Cobra and Domino for Adele’s triumph in Munich
The Adele in Munich show was huge in every respect. Taking place on a fully bespoke, purpose-built stage in front of a 220m x 19m LED screen backdrop (a Guinness Book of World Records holder!) with a central thrust measuring 84m, the Adele Arena in Munich, Germany hosted approximately 80,000 fans each night for just 10 performances in August.
The spectacular production was Adele’s second concert residency only, and marked her first non-UK European concert since 2016, after which the entire site was taken down and re-set to its pre-existing condition.
The creative team behind Adele in Munich spent 10-12 months working on the various aspects of this massive undertaking with everything designed around these unique performances, all of which was intended to bring the artist as close as possible to as many as possible of her fans in the audience.
Lighting designer, Cory FitzGerald of Silent House chose no less than 125 Ayrton Cobra and 85 Ayrton Domino Profile IP65-rated fixtures as key features in his equally massive and impressive design.
The Domino Profile fixtures were located in the overhead stage rig and upstage floor areas from where FitzGerald used them for everything from stage light and audience light to aerial effects. “But it was the ground row of Dominos that ended up being the work horse of the stage floor system, creating a horizon of lights behind the band and Adele, and big beam and break up effects in the camera backgrounds,” he says. “The Dominos are great big-lens punchy fixtures which not only performed fantastically but looked great too.”
The Cobra laser-sourced fixtures were arrayed along the central and side thrusts and the B-stage which also saw a lot of action, from where FitzGerald used them as beam lights for graphic patterns in the night sky, as well as for textures to create unique breakup looks. “One number, Hold On, was particularly impressive in that it featured a unique use of Cobra beams and searchlights through the crowd that then became a massive geometric array into the sky,” explains FitzGerald. “It was really great to finally get to utilise all that punch and versatility of the Cobra!”
Having used Ayrton fixtures before, FitzGerald and his team saw the potential of Domino Profile and Cobra for such a project of this size and prestige: “We had used the Domino in Adele’s Vegas residency and decided to keep them for Munich because of their versatility,” he explains. “We’d tried Cobra before, but never quite to the extent we used it on this show. I’m really impressed with the brightness and the reliability of both of them.”
With most of the massive performance area in the open air during summer in Germany, the IP65 rating of the fixtures was essential. “The entire rig was exposed to the elements all day and night in this production, and we’d seen a LOT of rain since day 1 of load in. The fixtures held up great in the weather and the beams looked amazing in a drizzle!”
The Domino Profile and Cobra fixtures for Adele in Munich were supplied by UK-based Neg Earth Lights. “I want to say a huge thanks to the Neg Earth crew who worked tirelessly for weeks to get this show up and working,” says FitzGerald, “and also to programmer Davey Martinez, and lighting director Nick Van Nostrand, as well as System Tech JJ Contini who got it all working and looking amazing!”
Text: Julie Harper
Photos: © Stufish, © Alex Waespi
