Prague State Opera, Czech Republic

To this day the Prague State Opera’s Neo-Rococo interior is regarded as one of the most beautiful in Europe. The theatre was built in only twenty months, and was ceremoniously opened on 5 January 1888 with a presentation of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Yet such a storied history and contemporary reputation as one of Europe’s classic opera houses has not necessarily meant incompatibility with high technology lighting effects available from the likes of Martin Professional.

New management hired architect Daniel Dvorak, who together with lighting designer Pavel Dautovsky, established a lighting scheme based on intelligent lights, incorporating color changes and movement including gobo projection.

In cooperation with Martin’s Czech distributor, High Tech Design, current equipment was enhanced with 12 MAC 600s and 6 PAL 1200s. This technology is complemented with the Automated Tracking System, the Martin Lighting Director (MLD), and Martin Show Designer as well as 2 Magnum Pro 2000 smoke machines.

Intelligent lighting is quite a new concept not only for Czech lighting director Paul Dautovsky but for opera as a whole. Dautovsky used the new technology in two quite new operas, Nerone by Arriga Boita and Bubu Z Montparnassu by E.F.Burian.