has won the contract to supply the lighting system for the new Toronto Opera House. The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, will be the new home for the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada. Theatre has a 2000-seat auditorium specifically designed for opera and ballet.
The design team for the project includes Jack Diamond and Gary McCluskie, Diamond and Schmitt Architects, Shaili Patel and Lana MacInnes of Mulvey and Banani International, Electrical Engineers and Josh Dachs and Richard Hoyes of the theatrical consulting firm, Fisher Dachs and Associates. The acoustical consult-ants are Sound Space Design of London in association with Aercoustics Ltd. Strand Lighting has worked closely with both the Opera Company and the Ballet for over 30 years and most recently at their current home at the Hummingbird Center in Toronto with Julian Sleath Opera Technical Director and resident master electrician Tom Taylor.
The lighting system for the theater includes 500 series consoles with ShowNet nodes and is the largest Sine-wave dimming system sold to date with over 1000 SST Sine-wave dimmers. The use of Sine-wave dimming was critical on this project as the hall is designed for musical performances and is acoustically very quiet. The Sine-wave dimmers deliver a symmetrical, continuous waveform that does not add noise to lamps that would intrude into the quiet hall compared to any other electronic dimming technology. The SST dimmers also provided an added bonus in the form savings on the buildings power feeds from the heavily loaded downtown Toronto power grid. Designers and the electrical utility did not have to plan for the harmonic distortion present in a large conventional system which places additional loads on wiring and transformers. The unity power factor of the system will delver ongoing savings to the facility.
The traditional, four-tiered European-style horseshoe-shaped auditorium will be lined with resonant wood and plaster. Seating configurations were designed to provide unparalleled intimacy between the audience and the stage, with every seat computer-tested by FDA for the best possible sightlines. A large, flexible orchestra pit will permit the presentation of the full range of opera repertoire, from chamber pieces to full scale 19th and 20th century works. Full rear and side stages, generous dressing rooms, wardrobe and instrument storage all will allow three full productions to play in repertory.
Tim Burnham President of Strand Lighting comments “We appreciate the confidence placed in our company by consultants Josh Dachs and Richard Hoyes, of Fisher Dachs and Associates in New York City, who specified Strand Lighting for this flagship project.” Richard Goode National Sales manager for Canada adds, “We worked closely with the Canadian Engineering team at Mulvey and Banani along with Salex Marnik our representative to insure that the electrical design meshed with the theater consultants vision of the project. The result will be a wonderful building to work in.”
For further information contact:
Peter Rogers
Vice President Marketing
Tel: 714 230 8200
Email: Peter.Rogers@strandlighting.com