Renzo Arbore sits on the chair in front of Fabio Fazio as it is announced that he will
be the special guest in the final show of Che Fuori tempo che fa (Fazio’s talk show).
The transmission will be devoted to Quelli della notte, one of the most popular late
night variety programmes in the history of Italian television, which went on the air
thirty years ago.
Renzo Arbore has always loved jazz and Neapolitan music classics. For the release
of “… e pensare che dovevo fare il dentista…” (…and to think I was supposed to
become a dentist…), he is leading his Orchestra Italiana, with his voice, clarinet
and boundless charm, on a new summer tour that culminates on 7 September in
Milan.
Gazebo Giallo (Arbore’s management company) turned to Paco Toscano to interpret
the atmospheres of Arbore’s music with lights. “I joined the production team that
organizes Arbore and the Orchestra Italiana’s tours in 2009. I was asked to come up
with a lighting design to replace the previous one. To tackle the task I was
assigned, I started from the idea of using warm light, with a temperature of 3200 K,
to get the same quality and attractiveness as a Par 64 halogen light.’
“I decided to use Varilite VL500 wash lights. But what spotlight should I use? I
needed a lightweight powerful spotlight that was not only reliable in terms of light
output, but also electronically and mechanically.’
“My choice was immediately clear: 20 Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 700s. They have
two gobo wheels, and are powerful and silent. They are also suitable for concerts
both outdoors and in theatres. They were just the right spotlights for me. The rental
firm backed me up in this choice by investing in the equipment I asked for and
buying the lights I needed in order to put my idea together.’
“I use a battery of other lights to illuminate the backdrop and achieve a greater
number of coloured planes and greater depth of field. The musicians are arranged
on three tiers, which are lit by 20 LED bars. Polystyrene panels and light grey PVC
borders are used to obtain uniform continuous lighting over the front of all the
scenery.’
“At first I used a Hog 3 system with DP8000 and ran a Catalyst server to air videos
on a LED wall. Later I decided to go back to controlling the lights from a desk so I
could concentrate solely on the lighting part of the show.’
“In recent years, my work as the lighting designer for this show and my idea of
entertainment have continued to gain consensus. This is also thanks to the
cooperation between me, the show production team and the rental company. We
have found the right financial, technical and human balance to allow me to realize
my ideas without considerable sacrifices, at least as regards the equipment I
consider necessary for the project to succeed.’
