Lumileds and LDDE provide lighting solution for the Vienna State Opera House
Date Announced: 13 Nov 2006
Stepping into the Limelight with LUXEON® LEDs -- LUXEON® LEDs are used in the lighting solution of the Vienna State Opera House
[Image Copyright LDDE]
Dating back to the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Vienna Opera is the oldest theatrical institution, with an unbroken record of performing in the German-speaking world.
As part of Vienna’s expansion in 1857 construction of the Vienna Opera House began and it was finally completed in 1869, from which time it hosted a wealth of musical performances. On 12 March 1945 the opera house was completely destroyed by air raids, but was rebuilt following the war and opened again in 1955.
Today around fifty operas and twenty ballets of the highest artistic calibre are offered in the repertoire every season, presenting more performances than any opera house in the world.
The brief given by the Vienna State Opera was to create a lighting solution that met the demanding requirements for professional stage lighting.
Key to presentation, the lighting solution had to be silent when in operation to avoid interrupting the performances. In addition, due to the limited stage space, the lighting fixtures had to be compact in size and mobile to allow floor lights to sink into the stage floor, ensuring the maximum stage space for performances.
It was also essential that the lighting had the power and flexibility to reproduce the same tones and colours as the original spotlights, especially for established repertoires. The Opera also wanted the ability to alter the atmosphere and create individual moods to support each performance through the use of different lighting techniques.
The Lighting Solution
To ensure the requirements were met, technical lighting specialist, LDDE, designed the SpectraLimeled fixture specifically for the Vienna State Opera House project.
In order to ensure the fixtures reproduced the individual nuances of conventional theatre spotlights, the SpectraLimeled incorporated warm-white LUXEON® LEDs, which provide an industry-leading colour rendering index (CRI) of 90, a correlated colour temperature (CCT) of 3200K, and an typical light output of 20 lumens that is up to 10 times brighter than standard LEDs. It is also the first solid-state light source to closely match the black body illuminant spectrum across the visible colour range.
Eight SpectraLimeled12/2 fixtures, equipped with 12 basic modules with 20 LUXEON® warm-white LEDs each, were used in the project as proscenium, side and counter lights for the opera house. By using an optimized optical lens system the fixtures achieve an unrivalled light intensity at distances up to 70 metres.
LDDE also developed the motorised, LUXEON® based SpectraLimeledYoke as a replacement for the Light Curtain system. A highly precise motorised yoke facilitates noiseless movements within the X and Y-axis, with all functions controlled over DMX512 digital signal. Silent and accurate in operation, six SpectraLimeledYoke fixtures were installed both on the stage and in the auditorium and were able to be operated during the show without disturbing the audience.
To manage the lighting solution the LDDE smooth_operatorTM software was installed to ensure fast, easy control of the SpectraLimeled fixtures, with the ability to take them from 0-100% in a response time of around 20 milliseconds. The interpolation and the smoothing of the DMC signal provided a linear characteristic and flicker-free cross fades even in the sensitive band between 0 and 10%.
The smooth_operatorTM software also provides digital control over the solution’s colour mixing system, with the colour channel and the intensity channel controlled separately by the Opera house technicians.
A number of the fixtures incorporate a foldaway action, enabling them to sink completely into the stage floor to maximise the stage space. This is also controlled by the smooth-operatorTM software to ensure total control of the effects.
The LED Advantage
Every SpectraLimeled module has been developed using LUXEON® high-power emitters, which guarantee a perfect colour rendition. Holographic filters facilitate a variable spatial radiation, a homogeneous colour mixing performance and reduced shadows.
The models were developed in three versions: RGB and white, RGB and warm-white and RGB and amber, allowing the reproduction of up to 16.7 million (16bit) colours.
In order to benefit from the long life and low maintenance of LUXEON® LEDs, a digital temperature monitoring system controls the internal fans of the SpectraLimeled fixtures. This system turns on the cooling fans when necessary and switches off the device in case of overheating. This makes the SpectraLimeled notably quiet in operation, which was essential for the application in the Vienna Opera House.
The small size of LUXEON® LEDs was also key in the development of the SpectraLimeled fixtures, allowing easy integration into the fixtures, and providing LDDE with the basis to create compact light systems with intense power and the ability to foldaway into the stage floor.
The result is a lighting solution with the power, control and flexibility for professional stage lighting in one of the World’s most prestigious opera houses.
Through the use of LUXEON® LEDs an extensive range of colours and intensity can be produced and easily controlled, allowing the lighting to be used for both established repertoires and new productions.
LDDE is a member of the LUXEON® Lighting Network and a Certified LUXEON® Luminaire Manufacturer.
Project Name – Vienna State Opera House
Type - Case Study
Location – Vienna, Austria
Designer - Ing.Fischer Rudolf
Number of LUXEON® - 1,920 1W
Fixture Name - SpectraLimeled
Manufacturer - LDDE
About Philips Lumileds Lighting Company
Philips Lumileds is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-power LEDs and a pioneer in the use of solid-state lighting solutions for everyday purposes including automotive lighting, camera flash, LCD displays and televisions, portable lighting, projection and general lighting. The company’s patented LUXEON® Power Light Sources are the first to combine the brightness of conventional lighting with the small footprint, long life and other advantages of LEDs. Lumileds also supplies core LED material and LED packaging, and manufactures billions of LEDs annually. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California, with operations in the Netherlands, Japan and Malaysia and sales offices throughout the world. For more information, call Lumileds visit www.philipslumileds.com.
About LDDE - Lighting Design Development Electronics
LDDE stands for innovative solutions on the highest technical and creative level. The synergy of practice-oriented development work and in-house production in combination with a wide range of high-end products of leading manufacturers allows us to respond to your wishes and realize your ideas in an individual and flexible manner. Visit www.ldde.com.
Philips Lumileds Lighting Company
Web Site: www.philipslumileds.com