ETC’s Unison Paradigm plays a starring role at a refurbishment of the architectural lighting control at London’s Royal Opera House. 

 

When the Royal Opera House installed Unison architectural lighting control for the stage and side stage areas as part of the original 1999 refurbishment, it was recognised that lighting control systems will be eventually replaced as new and better products are developed. When Senior Lighting Manager Nick Ware and his team members decided it was due for replacement, they understandably looked first at the updated version of the product: Unison Paradigm.

 

Lighting systems manager Paul Hornsby explains: “The system has remained on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the last 11 years, and has served us well. But it was time to consider replacing it. We talked to colleagues at other venues across the country, doing extensive research into the systems they were using and discussing whether a different system might serve our needs better, but always came back to ETC’s updated architectural product, Unison Paradigm – one which uses the same wiring and with a similar style of programming.

 

“We knew the replacement had to be in 2011, as with the Olympics this year, we may not get another opportunity for at least two years. The system controls all of the venue’s house lights, as well as backstage lighting for the main house, yet we only had a two-week break where the house was dark; there was no option for any part of it to not be in operation when people came back from their summer break. Steve Chappell from Stage Electrics was really helpful in getting everything fitted and working in the two-week dark period.