Roscolux Colors Used:

Roscolux #2003 Storaro Yellow

Roscolux #23 Orange

Roscolux #27 Medium Red

Roscolux #3206 Third Blue

Roscolux #385 Royal Blue

Roscolux #90 Dark Yellow Green

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Gobo Used:

#77561
Linear 7

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Bela Bartok’s one act opera, Bluebeard’s Castle, is a story of a King with a dark past and he desires to keep his secrets hidden from his new wife, Judith. The opera begins in “total darkness” and as the setting gradually becomes visible, a blood-red staircase protrudes from stage right, carrying the couple into the castle chamber. In order to achieve this vivid opening image, we had to create a strong sense of depth and focus. R385 Royal Blue was used on the center upstage wall to make it recede into the distance, and R27 to light the face of the staircase, making the color pop out and grab the eye. The singers were kept bright and icy white with R3206 (1/3 Blue).

Roscolux
#27
Medium Red

Gianni Dessi’s set design for Peter Stein’s production at Teatro alla Scala consisted of two moving walls, each individually remote controlled by off stage operators. Their paint treatment is grey and black with a metallic silver sheen and thus the neutral quality reflects light of any color beautifully. For the surfaces of the two set walls, we employed the use of 77561 Linear 7 templates, soft-focused to give a subtle effect of light and dark, and thus adding to the illusion of depth and space within the chamber.

Roscolux
#3206
Third Blue

#77561
Linear 7

In Bartok’s opera, the castle consists of seven secret doors of light, each a symbolizing a dark secret from king Bluebeard’s past. The interior of each automated door is lined with colored PVC material lit from behind with rows of dimmable fluorescents to give the illusion that only light exists beyond the opening.

Roscolux
#23
Orange

Shafts of light were created from within each door by 1.2K HMI Lekos hidden inside and combined with a Rosco color matched to the color of the corresponding PVC material. Door 1 Red: R27 (Medium Red), Door 2 Orange: R23 (Orange), Door 3: Yellow R2003 (Storaro Yellow), and Door #4 Green R90 (Dark Yellow Green).

Roscolux
#90
Dark Yellow
Green

The combination of HMI and incandescent sources with Rosco color, dimmable fluorescents behind colored PVC material, and Rosco templates on the set walls gave this production a rich environment that seamlessly shifted color and depth with the opening of each of Bluebeard’s doors.

Credits For “Bluebeard’s Castle” at LaScala

Directed by Peter Stein
Set Design by Gianni Dessi
Lighting by Japhy Weideman

Japhy Weideman is a freelance lighting designer specializing in theatre and opera and based in New York City. His lighting designs have been presented across the United States, Europe, and Korea. In New York, he has designed for Lincoln Center Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, The Public Theater, Second Stage, and LAByrinth Theatre Company. His regional work in the U.S. includes American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Houston Grand Opera, Huntington Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Magic Theatre, Old Globe, Santa Fe Opera, Shakespeare Theater, and Signature Theater. Internationally, he has lit productions at Teatro allo Scala-Milan, Nederlandse Opera-Amsterdam, Opera de Lyon-France, The Royal Shakespeare Co-Stratford, The West End-London, Edinburgh International Festival-Scotland, The Ancient Theater of Epidaurus-Greece, and The National Theater of Korea-Seoul. He received numerous awards and nominations for his lighting designs including Drama Desks, Lucille Lortel, Hewes Design, Bay Area Critics, and Craig Noel Awards.