PARIS – ADB France has completed a major upgrade of the stage lighting dimmers at the Opéra Bastille in Paris, replacing the dimmers originally installed for the theatre's opening in 1989. The new installation, which features ADB's Eurodim Twin Tech hybrid dimming technology, joins other ADB installations at well-known Paris venues, including the Opéra Garnier and the television broadcast studios of the TF1 and M6 channels.
The Opéra Bastille is the result of a competition staged by France's former president Françoise Mitterrand to mark the 200th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille with a new opera house. Designed by Carlos Ott, it seats 2,723 and opened on July 13 1989.
The first competitive tests between four leading dimmer brands were carried out in November 2009, and in February 2010, leading the opera's technical team to award the project to ADB France. They specified ADB's Eurodim Twin Tech dimming system.
A total of 906 circuits – including 792 5kW circuits, 42 10kW circuits and 72 Fluorescent circuits – have been installed.
All the dimmer modules are ADB's DimSwitch 400µsec type. This dual capability thyristor module can act both as a switch of normally non-dimmable loads (e.g. HMI ballasts) or as a normal dimmer for tungsten lamps with no minimum load required, depending on the customer's requirements.
The original dimmers had become old enough to raise concerns about failure. The opera's technical team, headed by M. Didier Paillet, also wanted to move to a more modern solution that provided greater flexibility and efficiency.
"We looked around at different theatres and different suppliers," said Didier Paillet. "We wanted to see what is contemporary and what is the real state of the art. We also looked at other technologies such as sine wave, but decided to upgrade to new and thoroughly proven technology. At the time of the changeover, our most important considerations were to find a manufacturer with a long track record and with the right product at the right price."
ADB project manager, Henri Marechal, noted, "Mr. Paillet required very special specifications for the dimmers to maximize safety, so every dimmer cabinet has a circuit breaker and every unit has its own interface. Although it could have also been done by a centralized computer-based system, it was also important that the transition time for the Bastille lighting team should be as fast and easy as possible. So his choice was to work with ADB to produce a Eurodim Twin Tech dimmer that meets the specific requirements of the Bastille." He added that the dual capability DimSwitch module provides the Opera Bastille with essential flexibility, "to be able to change the functionality of the modules remotely."
The dimmer upgrade is part of the theatre's continually evolving technology. In another recent development, the original bulky lighting hoists have been replaced with small 2 meter-wide cable rollers descending from the top fly floor, allowing easy manipulation of lighting cables.
Paillet noted, "The cooperation between all the parties in this project was the most important aspect, because you don't want to just sign an order, leave and expect that when you come back that the opera is working. It was a complete project that began when the old cabinets were removed and the new dimmers installed, all the cabling put back into place and then tested and working.
"So it's not only the dimmer manufacturer or the brand that you choose, but also the company that takes dimmers out, the electrical company and the technicians who install the cabling – all this needs careful attention to detail. In this case, ADB was the main contractor for all the companies involved in the project, and ADB's project manager, Henri Marechal, was responsible for the entire changeover in the five weeks we had available.
"After the theatre reopened the project work didn't stop, because we also had around 60 lighting technicians who needed to be trained on the operation of the dimmers – there was an extensive follow-up to complete the project correctly." Training consisted of two-hour sessions for groups of five technicians, including basic theory and hands-on testing of the dimmer, the different types of dimmer and the protection and safety systems, and overall operation.
"It's very important to keep the Opera moving ahead technology-wise, but always with equipment that is appropriate for the situation, and we maintain many long-standing values. For example, while it's very nice to have motorized lights, a traditional luminaire on a yoke with a color changer in front gives exact, repeatable values."
The entire project is controlled by a standards organization that was given an advance presentation, and at the end of the project the organization certified that the system had passed all technical and safety requirements.
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