Noted German LD Max Keller has approved the use of five Wynne Willson Gottelier Fantômes as the main component front-of-house system for the historic Kammerspiele theater in Munich, which recently reopened for public performances after seven years of darkness.
Fantôme is WWG’s fully automated version of Robert Juliat’s revered d’Artagnan 2.5kW HMI, zoom profile spotlight. Fantôme provides pan and tilt via WWG’s patented orbital, double mirror head, now manufactured by High End Systems, remote automation of zoom, focus, and iris plus WWG’s new flexible, full-framing system. Automated mechanical fader and gel-scroller, both by Licht Technik, were also incorporated at the specific request of Keller.
The challenge for Keller was that the Kammerspiele has a listed decorative ceiling in the theater and it was found that no other moving light was suitable for the purpose. “We were able to install the Fantômes in the roof on a custom-made steel structure so that only the heads are visible through the ceiling and thus minimize the disruption to its architectural heritage value and appearance,” says Björn Gerum, the Kammerspiele’s head of lighting. The Fantôme is designed to deliver fully panoramic beam positioning without any of the usual restraints or the distortion typical of most mirror devices. Because only the head is in motion, Fantôme occupies less real space on the grid than a driven yoke luminaire and is similarly up to the challenge the tough acoustic requirements of opera and theater buildings.
Fantôme, which was originally developed for the Royal Opera House in London under the aegis of Mark White when he was the lighting consultant, now has a brand-new and innovative framing system. “Without giving anything away, this new technique enables us to deliver virtually any shape you can imagine, including for example any triangle, also many other shapes hitherto impossible, and effects beyond even our own expectations,” says Peter Wynne Willson, WWG’s head of development. “I believe this level of flexibility represents a seminal change in the whole business of framing in a theatrical luminaire.”
Further demonstrating the flexibility of the Fantôme as a special, was Max Keller’s requirement that the integral gel-scroller had to be a Licht Technik Magmax, while the dimmer/shutter was a Darth Vader, also from Hagenbach and Grill. “The modular approach which we have adopted for Fantôme made this a relatively simple request to fulfil,” says Wynne Willson. In fact, WWG were so impressed with the Mag Max, in particular, that they plan to make it part of the standard Fantôme offer in future.