VIENNA STATE OPERA COMES TO LIGHT!

For the usual September appointment with the opera season the Wiener Staatsoper was wearing a shining evening dress. Iris and Michael Podgorschek of podpod design tailored this dress for the building overlooking the Ring, always considered a real temple of the classical music.

After having studied carefully the previous lighting, the Austrian designers chose lighting fixtures conceived and produced by Targetti to completely redesign the night image of the Opera. By using radiating Fresnel optic fixtures, Iris and Michael emphasised the fine structure of the facade with a soft glow. The additional accent lights exalt every detail of this stately cultural complex: the roof, the arches, the muses, the flying horses and the imperial emblem. A symphony of lights, created with an artistic yet responsible use of light sources, paying particular attention to energy savings.

The results of this really impressive intervention were presented to the public on the 2nd of September 2006 during the Alles Licht! Ceremony, the opening event which marked the début of the Opera’s new facade: the notes of the triumphal march from Aida by Giuseppe Verdi accompanied indeed the slow unveiling of the new lighting.

Roof illumination: LINEOS+PYROS
The main roof and the side roofs are floodlit evenly from the base of the roofs, using linear light fixtures with 35 and 54W T5 fluorescent lamps to respectively emphasize the curved and flat surfaces. There is additional flood lighting for the upper part of the main roof.

Arcade illumination
The historical chandeliers have been modified using horizontally positioned circular fluorescent tubes in order to obtain the technical performance necessary for illuminating the vaults. The flooring is illuminated with 35W CDM-R lamps.

Accent lighting: LED.Y and NANO PYROS
The Muses , the flying horses and the imperial emblem of the façade of the Opera House have been highlighted. Projectors equipped with 70W HI-DE deliver brilliant light. High output blue LED spots provided a subtle moonlight-like effect. Auxiliary support lighting at the building’s front has been provided by Vienna’s department of public lighting by fixtures mounted on poles placed in public areas.

Façade illumination: FEBO
Soft, subtle surface modelling with 360° radiating Fresnel optics fixtures with 70W HI-DE metal halide lamps with extremely even light distribution attached to the façade above the corniches.

With this project Targetti consolidates its leading position in the field of lighting for monuments and historical landmarks: The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, the David by Michelangelo, the Nôtre Dame Cathedral in Paris and Piazza San Marco in Venice are only some of the many projects we could mention.

Photos of the project here...