Astera for Malmo Opera and Funny Girl posted: 11/12/2020
Sweden's Malmo Opera presented an acclaimed production of musical classic Funny Girl as part of the autumn / winter repertory programme which continued to run despite the pandemic! Audience figures were dramatically reduced to 50 plus a livestream which could be enjoyed by all who had bought a ticket for each performance. Planned two years earlier and fully sold out many months in advance, Malmo Opera decided to go ahead in delivering all their dynamic seasonal main house productions as the budgets were already allocated and spent.
Leading Swedish lighting designer Fredrik Jonsson was delighted to be back working on a live show and helping to create the aesthetic for this vibrant, funny, and poignant piece known for its intricate production numbers.
Malmo Opera has a quantity of Astera fixtures in its lighting inventory which are used for multiple situations and solutions across their range of productions, and Fredrik made the most of the tiny Astera AX3 LightDrops to highlight important details on the elaborate Funny Girl sets designed by Martin Chocholousek.
Ten AX3s were hidden behind custom golden shell casings that emulated classic 1930's Ziegfeld Follies era footlights in line with period setting of the piece.
The AX3s were attached magnetically to metallic plates behind the plastic shell shapes, slightly angled up to authentically simulate footlights coming from the orchestra pit area. The AX3's magnetic fixing option is one of many neat features for this incredibly versatile little luminaire.
Fredrik added some AX3s inside the two large ventilation funnels of the battleship set to highlight the interior of the funnel ends and give these more prominence. AX3s positioned in the bottom of the ventilation tubes allowed Fredrik to achieve a highlight in the bend at the top of the funnel which faced the audience.
More AX3s were utilised on a striking chandelier that sat on the floor for the first scene at Nicky Arnstein's mansion when he and funny girl' Fanny Brice move in as newlyweds. In the narrative, the building has been mothballed for some time so at the start of the scene, the furniture and chandelier were covered in white dust sheets'. These were removed after a while by the chorus, and the chandelier lit up as they launched into Sadie, Sadie, the musical number that follows.
All these AX3s were controlled through the Operas' main grandMA lighting console.
Fredrik really enjoys adding lighting features like this and bringing more texture, depth and focus to specific set elements. Apart from adding nice detail to the overall look, it and makes the whole picture richer and more luxurious he stated.
He thinks that ensconcing AX3s inside the funnel pipes - for example - is a small touch but one that was hugely satisfying.
Generally, he thinks Astera products are powerful, robust, quality engineered and very easy to use .
He's used AX5s on some projects and is waiting for an opportunity to spec the newest Astera Titan Tube product family, I hear the CRI levels are outstanding he commented.
Malmo Opera in the fortunate position of receiving state and regional funding rather than being fully reliant on ticket revenue which has made this current season viable and massively appreciated by cast and crew for the ability to work! This seriously boosted morale for at least some in an industry experiencing extremely tough economic fallout of the pandemic.
The first 50 first to book their tickets for Funny Girl on each of the days it played were allocated the 50 available socially-distanced seats in the massive 1232 seat auditorium, while everyone else booked for that show had the option of a live stream - via the Malmo Opera website - https://www.malmoopera.se for free.
Fredrik was initially approached in 2018 by director Ronny Danielsson to work on the production, having collaborated with him previously on Kinky Boots also at Malmo Opera, and Shakespeare In Love at Stockholm's Stadsteater. Fredrik also worked with Martin Chocholousek on Kinky Boots , so this talented and imaginative creative team were reunited once more to deliver multiple visually exciting environments to frame this popular and successful show.
Most recent headlines
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
09/05/2025
Wooden Camera, a leading innovator in camera accessories, is proud to announce the launch of a new line of products for the Blackmagic URSA Cine Cameras. These ...
09/05/2025
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions is expanding its popular Series 5000 platform with three new 12G-SDI cards. The new cards provide ...
09/05/2025
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, has completed a project to migrate ON TV, the major independent broadcaste...
09/05/2025
NUGEN Audio launches its new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck. A mono, stereo and multichannel dialog clarity meter, the software provides an objecti...
09/05/2025
Disguise the technology platform and solutions provider that powered MDL Beast Soundstorm 2024, Dubai Expo's Al Wasl Dome and visual displays at the Burj ...
09/05/2025
CVP has announced it will demonstrate its cutting-edge broadcast, live production and studio solutions at MPTS 2025. Taking place at Olympia London from 14th - ...
09/05/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, and White Peaks Solutions, the prominent e...
09/05/2025
SportsEngine Play, the first-of-its-kind streaming service for youth sports, has agreed to a multi-year extension with AI-automated sports content leader, Pixel...
09/05/2025
Friend MTS, a leading global provider of content protection services, today announced that TOD, the premier sports and entertainment OTT subscription service fo...
09/05/2025
ZEISS announces that it is in development on a new virtual lens technology that will allow visual effects and compositing artists to apply an authentic lens loo...
09/05/2025
At the 2025 Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), Cerberus Tech will showcase the latest major enhancement to its Livelink IP video delivery platform the...
09/05/2025
Capitol Broadcasting Company welcomed Warren Thomas as the new Vice President an...
09/05/2025
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Studio Technologies said the Harvard University athletics department has integrated Dante-enabled equipment from the vendor into its broadcast ...
09/05/2025
NEW YORK ITN, a provider of a local linear supply side platform, and Magnite, a independent sell-side advertising company, have announced that they working toge...
09/05/2025
LEEDS, U.K. Nugen Audio has launched a new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck and offered up quotes from technologists working at places like Netflix p...
09/05/2025
AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
When working remotely on broadcas...
09/05/2025
What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course?
Roland Kahlenberg May 8, 2025
0 Comments
There aren't many advanced After Effects co...
09/05/2025
Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
Trevor Morgan, COO of OpenDrives, shares how the co...
09/05/2025
Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates For the first time, BPMI will bring Berklee-affiliated artists and students to the ...
09/05/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
In the season finale of The Late Late Show, ...
09/05/2025
My Eurovision Party 2025 - join in on the fun with RT Kids!
Eurovision launche...
08/05/2025
A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...
08/05/2025
As expected, continued weak demand from key sales markets and declining economic...
08/05/2025
A new three-part series is coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One
(Image: The Christie Archive Trust)
The BBC has announced Agatha Christie's Endless Night, a...
08/05/2025
For skyward-bound operators, training focuses on the unique aspects of flying ISR missions, including the management of onboard surveillance equipment and the e...
08/05/2025
The cable industry has told the Federal Communications Commission it supports the National Association of Broadcasters' proposal to allow broadcasters to us...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Consumer Technology Association has continued its opposition to mandates requiring that NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuners be included in new TV sets, sa...
08/05/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real time visualization, has named Paul Maroni as Vice Pres...
08/05/2025
This year's UK Pavilion in hall 5, once again managed by Tradefair, will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to discuss and be involved in cutting ...
08/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Broadcast technologies, designed to support network operators and content provider...
08/05/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group has tapped Bill Nardi as vice president of station operations, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day broadcast operations ...
08/05/2025
SEATTLE LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy's training simulat...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Society of Broadcast Engineers has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission that support a proposal by the National Association ...
08/05/2025
Senior adviser to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake has announced that One America News Network (OAN) will provide newsfeed services for fre...
08/05/2025
EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden an...
08/05/2025
Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro
Graham Quince May 7, 2025
0 Comments
This very quick tutorial shows you how to take an RGB clip and apply its ...
08/05/2025
OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Nativ...
08/05/2025
Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan The Armenian composer, who was named Boston Conservatory at Berklees 2025 student commencement speaker, talks about his ...
08/05/2025
08 May 2025
VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board at 2025 AGM, Founder Augie Fabela ...
08/05/2025
Comedy and entertainment channel U&Dave bring back their #1 ranked programme of ...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music
Slick Rick's Victory with Idris Elba a...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit
11-Day Industry Event Launches with Tal...
08/05/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on AI in Workflows, Pushing Boundarie...
08/05/2025
Creating Alternative Brand Experiences: Live Sports in the Age of Fortnite, Meta...
08/05/2025
PGA TOUR's David Piccolo: Advanced Graphics and Virtual Production Tools are...
08/05/2025
Tech Focus: Advancing Immersion in Sports Broadcasting with AR and Virtual Produ...
08/05/2025
Expect even more chaos this July with Harriet Webb leading the returning cast, p...
08/05/2025
Back to All News
Now in Production: Comedy Action Film Husbands in Action'...
Astera for Malmo Opera and Funny Girl posted: 11/12/2020 
