This third project by Claudio Baglioni Questo piccolo grande amore (Little Love), after the film and the novel, was not just a tour but more of a modern opera, the musical story of a great love, with a journey through the artist’s historical repertoire projected on a 16×6.8 mega-screen. A highly innovative and most spectacular formula which, for the first time ever, witnessed the live dimension anticipating the contents of a new double CD album by this composer, published at the end of the tour with a full performance live.
The Lighting Designer Mariano de Tassis explains how he adapted his show to this concept: “The original idea for the lighting design came directly from the artist and was then developed jointly by myself and Fabrizio “Bicio” Marchi, Production and Designer Manager. We needed to interpret this album concept with different color schemes, paying great attention to the succession of individual scenic moments. The basic input aimed to confer maximum emotion to the characters and elements telling the “story”, with just a glimpse of the silhouettes of the musicians”.
Much of the lighting system was branded Clay Paky: Alpha Spot HPE 700 to demarcate the space on the stage (arranged on the main structure and on the ground), Alpha Beam 300 vertically stacked on supports behind the screen at a height of between 9 and 5 m to give an “in line” effect, Alpha Beam 1500 behind the screen to convey a safe and powerful visual impact element.
“What I was most surprised to see was just how small the HPE 700 are compared to the huge power they manage to provide: they have the same light as a 1200W product, a wealth of effects and colors and very fast movements. The use of such compact and lightweight projectors on stage is revolutionary because it allows you to reinvent the composition of the lighting elements, offering many more opportunities in practical and creative terms”– says Mariano de Tassis. “For example, I first started in the theatre as an actor and then as a lighting assistant, so I love conveying a theatrical side to live music. I want “clean” images, and I always try to hide, if possible, the light source which, with these small spotlights, I can actually do so! “
Mariano De Tassis also shows his appreciation for the Alpha Beam 300. “The ACL are one of my favorite spotlights, because you can create cross-lighting and radial projections, and the Clay Paky Alpha Beam are the most complete product in this category because they have everything: great power, a wide range of effects, high speed movement. By using these Beams I managed to deeply “penetrate” the LED screens: this way the light is both real and filmed. The Beam 1500 are fantastic, very powerful and very agile”.
The show was divided into three parts: the first was theatrical and cinematographic, with extensive use of mega-screens, playing considerably with shades of black and white; the second part had brighter tones, with an evocative use of color, a more lifelike characterization of the ambience, and a third part – the last three tracks – where movement become the star of the show in all its forms.
The tour was set in a landscaped contexts of great historical and artistic interest, enhanced by ad hoc programmed lighting designs, which were able to adapt to the different environments as required. At the theatre in Syracuse, for example, the historic aspects of the amphitheatre were enhanced by the background lighting, while the statues at the Palazzo della Loggia in Brescia were almost brought to life by the color. “Live, theatrical and architectural elements blended into a single art project, with the use of the most advanced technologies in the lighting-video sector …. Among the many shows that I have worked on as lighting designer, this was one of the most comprehensive and challenging from a creativity point of view”– concludes Mariano de Tassis.