Following the resounding success of the September concerts in the Arena Centrale of the Foro Italico in Rome and the two triumphant evenings on live TV on RAI UNO in October, Baglioni and Morandi have embarked again – by popular demand – on a bright new adventure around Italy, together with Clay Paky.
I Capitani Coraggiosi (the courageous captains), as they are known, will do a new series of three-hour concerts, consisting of fifty memorable Italian songs from the last fifty years. A super group of 21 multi-instrumentalists will perform on an innovative high-tech stage hosted in the sports halls of various Italian cities.
The challenge the new production team faced was to resume from the show’s Rome format. Lighting designer Carlo Pastore had the task of explaining the choices the two artists helped make.
“Every sports hall has its own characteristics. We needed to design a stage able to accommodate the musicians and artists regardless of the size of the venue. On the basis of our outdoor experience in Rome, we decided to use a ‘terraced’ stage.”
Once you have designed the set you can begin to arrange the orchestra, instruments and artists, and set up the technical installations, so we asked Carlo how he started to draw up his lighting design:
“After last year’s experience, we went back to working with a symmetrical stage and exploiting the horizontal surfaces of terraces, which reach a height of 15 feet (4.5 metres) at the back of the stage. The vertical front faces of the terraces were used to fix LED screens. The same step-like configuration was used upside down above the stage, with more vertical LED display strips placed to cover the battens on which the lights were hung.”
There are two platforms at the sides, one with a piano and the other with a double bass, where Baglioni and Morandi give acoustic performances of their hits. They are like two islands, connected by a parterre. Then there are three steps before you climb up the terraces towards the orchestra. The spaces are all very limited.
“So I needed small, space saving lights, which would not block the view of the video strip behind them. The first choice was conditioned by the size of the light. And I needed spotlights. I asked for Clay Paky Mythos (26), Sharpy (42) and Alpha Spot 700hpe (40) units.
They are compact, lightweight lights. The Alpha Spot 700hpe is the world’s most compact, lightweight 700W spotlight. It weighs only 48.5 lb (22 kg), and is powerful and quiet! They form a really interesting set of lights for a continuously moving show.”
“It is the first time I have used Mythos lights on tour. I tried them during an impromptu concert with Claudio Baglioni, and loved them. They have an incredible zoom. They are hybrid lights that have everything!”
The Mythos is the most highly advanced form of hybrid light. It works in two different modes without compromises in either.
“This is a big plus if you have a well made product. In other cases, it is not. Lots of other manufacturers have tried to make similar lights, but none have been successful. Clay Paky has instead succeeded with a very competitive light, in keeping with its brand image. It will be a technical and commercial success like the Sharpy.”
Carlo Pastore was quickly able to deepen his technical knowledge of the Mythos and today he has no doubt about the light’s pluses: “this hybrid works great. It is exemplary at high speed, without any imperfections.”
We know the Sharpy well. It is the quintessential tracer light in Italy and worldwide.
Agorà provided the lighting equipment.