Lighting chief Rudolf Fischer told Prospect magazine, "Our existing desks served us faithfully for 16 years, but no longer met our requirements. They lacked a Moving Light Engine, and spare parts were difficult to obtain, making maintenance difficult."
The theatre invested in four ETC Gio desks, along with two Remote Processor Units (RPUs) and an Ion to cover the main stage lighting, auditorium and Kinderzelt, a tent on the roof for children.
"We have a very large repertoire with a very wide range of lighting - there are over 200 shows, dating back to 1957. So the ability to handle traditional fixtures as well as our old desk could, was very important to us. We watched the market for some time, waiting until technology had developed sufficiently. ETC's Gio proved to be perfect.
"From the beginning, we said that we wanted to work with a local firm in Vienna, if only so that they could quickly respond to calls for technical assistance. Lighting Innovation has a long standing relationship with ETC both in Germany and the US, as well as having a local presence with spare parts readily available.
"We were thrilled that everything worked out so smoothly. The desk works perfectly, and they even correctly configured the network nodes for us - something which should always be done properly first time every time, but unfortunately very often isn't."
It was, of course, the board operator, Herbert ReehSawker, who represents the users of the desk, and it was important that he agreed with the decision. He says: "We tested various control desks and decided that Gio was the best of all of them. One of the decisive factors was the desk's stability. We were impressed, for example, that when we pulled the cable out of the back of the desk, the backup immediately took over.
"It's clear that the operating system has been well tested, and the desk meets our key criteria: it's portable, manageable and with collapsible screens, perfect for using in the confined space of our control room. It's like the ETC Eos [Gio's larger sibling, with a similar operating syntax], but in a more compact design."
Project manager for Lighting Innovation, Christian Allabauer, adds, "The first show for the new control desk was Don Carlos, an ambitious show with hundreds of lighting effects and moving light types. But we all relived when it worked seamlessly, especially since we were able to do only minimal testing. There was an enormous amount of data to import into the new system, but there was an intermediate step which we needed to take first. ETC's teams in Holzkirchen, Germany, and Middleton, USA, were exceptionally helpful."
Vienna State Opera's technical director Peter Kozak has the last word, "The introduction of the new system has worked wonderfully, especially when compared to the last renovation 16 years ago. For me as a technical manager, that is absolutely fantastic. The transition was seamless, and the audience would not have noticed the difference."
(Jim Evans)
