Great Britain’s renowned Royal Ballet recently staged Romeo and Juliet for an audience of 12,000, not at their home venue at Covent Garden, but at London’s vast O2 arena. The bold spatial experiment was a great success. And behind the scenes of the complex production was an ETC Eos lighting control system.

The Royal Opera House had bought Eos desks in 2008 for their house performances but needed additional desks to take the Royal Ballet company to The O2. PRG (Production Resource Group) was called in to provide lighting and rigging rental equipment, but additional desks were required to supplement their stocks, which were out on long-term productions. So the ROH turned directly to ETC in London, who stepped in to help for the weeklong run of rehearsals and shows.

Following the initial days of testing and demonstrations, PRG provided specifications based on the lighting design by John B. Read, which was then programmed by the ROH’s Jo Walters. The tight schedule and close deadlines required that 99% of the massive rig be automated -- incorporating over 200 moving lights. Says PRG’s Senior Account Manager Peter Marshall: “The two Eos desks were rock solid and operated flawlessly for the entire run. The show looked fantastic, and all the ROH and creative staff were extremely happy. ETC really helped us out, and as usual the service they provided was second to none. They really looked after us. The Eos system was able to cope with the vast moving light rig admirably.”

Eos product manager Anne Valentino responds: “The Royal Opera House was one of the first Eos users. Eos was designed following extensive conversations with designers and programmers like those at ROH. And we continue to closely monitor requests for new features and updates and try to respond as quickly as we can. By using the ETC forums and tutorials available via our website etcconnect.com, as well as our technical helpline, any user in need of programming assistance can be assured a quick response.”

The technical success of the Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet had as much to do with the expert home crew as with the right gear: Marshall worked closely with ROH Senior Lighting Manager Nick Ware to ensure that everything was ready in advance. The lighting crew, under the experienced leadership of Crew Chief Ian Bagshaw, had the entire rig installed and running in less than a day. Their intense work was imperative, as the set build had to begin as early as possible in the first load-in day. Ian liaised closely with Production Manager Simon Byford to keep everything on schedule and allow maximum time for on-site additional programming.

The ambitious production was received with great acclaim. Highlights of Romeo & Juliet can be viewed at the Royal Opera House website http://www.roh.org.uk/video/index.html?bcpid=1733261711&bclid=1740131613&bctid=901472266001

For more information on ETC Eos lighting control and other ETC lighting or rigging solutions: www.etcconnect.com