Dutch National Touring Opera upgrades with ETC Source Four LED Series 3

Date Posted: 2/21/2024

Dutch National Touring Opera, also known as Nederlandse Reisopera, has upgraded its lighting equipment with 30 Source Four LED Series 3 fixtures ahead of its latest production ‘Powder Her Face’.

The venue which is based in Enschede, Netherlands is known as the largest travelling opera company in the country with an ambitious program that spreads throughout the region. The latest production ‘Powder Her Face’ explores the real-life scandal and much-publicised divorce that disgraced the Scottish Duchess of Argyll in 1963.

American Lighting Designer Thomas Hase lit the production, he says: “Artistically the fixtures are amazing, I had used the Source Four LED Series 2 fixtures before, but this was my first time using the Source Four LED Series 3 fixtures. The colors are excellent, and the fixtures are brighter than anything else out there. The full spectrum array makes it even faster and easier to work with these lights.”

Head of Lighting at the Reisopera Lianne Eikelenboom comments on selecting ETC fixtures for the venue: “The addition of the Deep Red emitters in the eight-colour array makes this fixture unique. It also is a huge timesaver on the production because the fixture covers more of the spectrum and gives you more options to play with. You don’t have to constantly tweak or change things anymore, it’s just ready to go! Source Four LED Series 3 feels like a good mix of LED and conventional lighting and the new lenses have also greatly helped.”

28 Source Four LED Series 3 fixtures with 25-50 zoom lenses were used, all between 0-5 meters stage depth. Due to the nature of the production and use of mirrors on stage, the fixtures were set up in towers on either side of the stage, with six fixtures placed under the steel construction on stage and two Source Four LED Series 2 fixtures on the floor as low light.

Nederlandse Reisopera have a long-standing relationship with ETC through local dealer Ampco Flashlight, and have over a decade’s experience of using ETC’s Eos platform, buying their first Ion console back in 2010. They were also early adopters of LED fixtures, investing in their Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr luminaires not long after the release. After nine years of service those fixtures are still going strong, and blend nicely with the new Series 3 in this production.

ETC Field Project Coordinator Robbi Nassi adds: “It is great to see customers like the Reisopera still getting the most out of ETC’s LED fixtures which they bought nearly ten years ago; and we’re really happy that they want to continue working with us for many years to come.”